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 .
Double Patenting
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.
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Claim 1-5,9-15 provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-5,9-15 of copending Application No. 18956519 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-5,9-15 are anticipated by claims 1-5,9-15 of application 1896519.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
18955803 18956519
1. An electromagnetic wave detection apparatus comprising: a receiving end portion configured to receive at least one antenna signal from an antenna block and to generate at least one conversion signal; a switch operatively connected to the receiving end portion and configured to perform switching to change a gain according to characteristics of the at least one antenna signal and to generate the at least one conversion signal; a frequency power detector operatively connected to the switch and configured to generate frequency information and power information using the at least one conversion signal; and a symptom detector operatively connected to the frequency power detector and configured to classify an electromagnetic wave using the frequency information and the power information.
1. An early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus comprising: a receiving end portion configured to receive at least one antenna signal from an antenna block and generate at least one conversion signal; a switch operably connected to the receiving end portion and configured to perform switching to change a gain according to characteristics of the at least one antenna signal and generate the at least one conversion signal; a frequency power detector operably connected to the switch and configured to generate frequency information and power information using the at least one conversion signal; a symptom detector operably connected to the frequency power detector and configured to generate determination information for determining an early electromagnetic wave abnormality using the frequency information and the power information; and a micro control unit (MCU) operably connected to the symptom detector and configured to execute one control mode among a plurality of control modes to control an operation of at least one of the receiving end portion and the switch according to the determination information.
2. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device.
2. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device.
3. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving end portion includes at least one amplifier configured in parallel.
3. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving end portion includes at least one amplifier configured in parallel.
4. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector.
4. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector.
5. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frequency power detector includes: a frequency generator configured to generate phase frequency signals including different phases; a mixer operatively connected to the switch and the frequency generator and configured to generate a synthesized signal by mixing the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals; a filter operatively connected to the mixer and configured to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal by filtering the synthesized signal; an adder operatively connected to the filter and configured to generate the power information of electromagnetic waves by multiplying the real number signal and the imaginary number signal; and an analog-digital converter (ADC) operatively connected to the adder and configured to convert the power information from analog information to digital information.
5. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frequency power detector includes: a frequency generator configured to generate phase frequency signals including different phases; a mixer operably connected to the frequency generator and configured to mix the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals to generate a synthesized signal; a filter operably connected to the mixer and configured to filter the synthesized signal to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal; an adder operably connected to the filter and configured to multiply the real number signal and the imaginary number signal to generate power information of electromagnetic waves; and an analog-digital converter (ADC) operably connected to the adder and configured to convert the power information from analog information to digital information.
9. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch includes a structure to select one input among a plurality of inputs and produce one output.
9. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch includes a structure to select one input among a plurality of inputs and produce one output.
10. The electromagnetic wave detection apparatus of claim 9, wherein the switch includes at least one switching element connected in one-to-one correspondence to at least one amplifier provided in parallel at the receiving end portion.
10. The early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection apparatus of claim 9, wherein the switch includes at least one switching element connected to at least one amplifier provided in parallel in the receiving end portion in one-to-one correspondence.
11. A method of controlling an electromagnetic wave detection apparatus, the method including: receiving, by a receiving end portion, at least one antenna signal from an antenna block and generating at least one conversion signal; performing, by a switch operatively connected to the receiving end portion, switching to change a gain according to characteristics of the at least one antenna signal and generate the at least one conversion signal; generating, by a frequency power detector operatively connected to the switch, frequency information and power information using the at least one conversion signal; and classifying, by a symptom detector operatively connected to the frequency power detector, an electromagnetic wave using the frequency information and the power information.
11. A method of controlling an early electromagnetic wave abnormality detection device, the method comprising: receiving by a receiving end portion, at least one antenna signal from an antenna block and generating at least one conversion signal; performing, by a switch operably connected to the receiving end portion, switching to change a gain according to characteristics of the at least one antenna signal and generate the at least one conversion signal; generating, by a frequency power detector operably connected to the switch, frequency information and power information using the at least one conversion signal; generating, by a symptom detector operably connected to the frequency power detector, determination information for determining an early electromagnetic wave abnormality using the frequency information and the power information; and executing, by a micro control unit (MCU) operably connected to the symptom detector, one control mode among a plurality of control modes to control an operation of at least one of the receiving end portion and the switch according to the determination information.
12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device.
13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the receiving end portion includes at least one amplifier configured in parallel.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving end portion includes at least one amplifier configured in parallel.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector.
15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the frequency power detector includes a frequency generator, a mixer, a filter, an adder and an analog-digital converter (ADC), and wherein the generation of the frequency information and the power information includes: generating phase frequency signals including different phases by the frequency generator; generating a synthesized signal by mixing the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals by a mixer operatively connected to the switch and the frequency generator; generating a real number signal and an imaginary number signal by filtering the synthesized signal by a filter operatively connected to the mixer; generating the power information of electromagnetic waves by multiplying the real number signal and the imaginary number signal by an adder operatively connected to the filter; and converting the power information from analog information to digital information by the analog-digital converter (ADC) of the frequency power detector operatively connected to the adder.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the frequency power detector includes a frequency generator, a mixer, a filter, an adder and an analog-digital converter (ADC), and wherein the generation of the frequency information and the power information includes: generating, by the frequency generator, phase frequency signals including different phases; mixing, by the mixer operably connected to the frequency generator, the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals to generate a synthesized signal; filtering, by the filter operably connected to the mixer, the synthesized signal to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal; multiplying, by the adder operably connected to the filter, the real number signal and the imaginary number signal to generate power information of electromagnetic waves; and converting, by the analog-digital converter (ADC) operably connected to the adder, the power information from analog information to digital information.
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.
Claims 1,3,8-11 and 13 areis/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Chen et al. teach An electromagnetic wave detection apparatus comprising:
a receiving end portion (3, Fig. 1) configured to receive at least one antenna signal from an antenna block and to generate at least one conversion signal;
a switch operatively (4, Fig. 1) connected to the receiving end portion and configured to perform switching to change a gain according to characteristics of the at least one antenna signal and to generate the at least one conversion signal;
a frequency power detector (6, Fig. 3) operatively connected to the switch and configured to generate frequency information and power information using the at least one conversion signal; and
Chen does not teach a symptom detector operatively connected to the frequency power detector and configured to classify an electromagnetic wave using the frequency information and the power information.
Charland teach a symptom detector (processor 604, Fig. 6) operatively connected to the frequency power detector (613, Fig. 6) and configured to classify an electromagnetic wave using the frequency information and the power information. (Note claim 8, generating a mismatch cost function based on a comparison of the predicted received power level of the RF signal at the first location and the actual measured received power level of the RF signal at the first location; and indicating a fault/anomaly if the mismatch cost function exceeds a threshold value.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of a symptom detector operatively connected to the frequency power detector and configured to classify an electromagnetic wave using the frequency information and the power information to indicate a fault of anomaly. (Note par. 0012)
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Chen teach wherein the receiving end portion includes at least one amplifier configured in parallel. (Note 3, Fig. 1)
Regarding claim 8, Chen teach further including an output processor (Note integral circuitry7, Fig. 1) operatively connected to the frequency power detector (6, Fig. 1) and configured to output-process the frequency information and the power information. ([n0052]
The integrating circuit 7 in this embodiment is used to amplify, filter and condition the detector voltage. In this embodiment, the voltage amplification factor is 2 and the integrating bandwidth is 20kHz.)
Regarding claim 9, Chen teach wherein the switch includes a structure to select one input among a plurality of inputs and produce one output. (Note 4, Fig. 1)
Regarding claim 10, Chen teach wherein the switch includes at least one switching element (4, Fig. 1) connected in one-to-one correspondence to at least one amplifier (Note 3, Fig. 1) provided in parallel at the receiving end portion.
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Pascolini (US 20150355251).
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Chen does not teach wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector.
Pascolini et al. teach wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier (Note 142, par. 0054), and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector (processor 132m Fig, 5, par. 0057).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of wherein the at least one amplifier is a variable gain amplifier, and is configured to perform variable gain amplification under control of the symptom detector to evaluate real time antenna data. (Note Pascolini et al. par. 0057)
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Miyauchi (JP 2000002729A)
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claim 5, Chen does not teach wherein the frequency power detector includes: a frequency generator configured to generate phase frequency signals including different phases; a mixer operatively connected to the switch and the frequency generator and configured to generate a synthesized signal by mixing the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals; a filter operatively connected to the mixer and configured to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal by filtering the synthesized signal; an adder operatively connected to the filter and configured to generate the power information of electromagnetic waves by multiplying the real number signal and the imaginary number signal; and an analog-digital converter (ADC) operatively connected to the adder and configured to convert the power information from analog information to digital information.
Miyauchi teach wherein the frequency power detector includes: a frequency generator (70, par. 0002) configured to generate phase frequency signals including different phases; a mixer (20, par. 0002) operatively connected to the switch and the frequency generator and configured to generate a synthesized signal by mixing the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals; a filter (5, par. 0002) operatively connected to the mixer and configured to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal by filtering the synthesized signal; an adder (81, par. 0002) operatively connected to the filter and configured to generate the power information of electromagnetic waves by multiplying the real number signal and the imaginary number signal; and an analog-digital converter (ADC) (50,par. 0002) operatively connected to the adder and configured to convert the power information from analog information to digital information.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of wherein the frequency power detector includes: a frequency generator configured to generate phase frequency signals including different phases; a mixer operatively connected to the switch and the frequency generator and configured to generate a synthesized signal by mixing the at least one conversion signal and the phase frequency signals; a filter operatively connected to the mixer and configured to generate a real number signal and an imaginary number signal by filtering the synthesized signal; an adder operatively connected to the filter and configured to generate the power information of electromagnetic waves by multiplying the real number signal and the imaginary number signal; and an analog-digital converter (ADC) operatively connected to the adder and configured to convert the power information from analog information to digital information to provide real-time data, allowing for immediate analysis and decision-making.
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Miyauchi (JP 2000002729A) further in view of Marshall et al. (US 20020127972).
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Chen does not teach wherein the frequency generator is further configured to perform generating frequencies having a 90° phase.
Marshall et al. teach wherein the frequency generator (40, par. 0030) is further configured to perform generating frequencies having a 90° phase. (Note par. 0030)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of wherein the frequency generator is further configured to perform generating frequencies having a 90° phase to cancel certain unwanted signals or harmonics, improving overall signal quality.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Miyauchi (JP 2000002729A) further in view of Mordkovich (US 20040000921).
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Chen does not teach wherein the frequency generator is further configured to perform a frequency sweep mode of changing at a predetermined frequency over time during operation of the electromagnetic wave detection apparatus to detect the predetermined frequency.
Mordkovich teach wherein the frequency generator (32, par. 0025) is further configured to perform a frequency sweep mode of changing at a predetermined frequency over time during operation of the electromagnetic wave detection apparatus to detect the predetermined frequency. ([0040] 8. The frequency of the synthesized signal generator 32 is swept down from Fdut to (Fdut-2(Fpulling)). The frequency step size should be less than the desired accuracy of the pulling measurement. [0041] 9. After each frequency step of the synthesized signal generator, the spectrum generator is swept using the peak search function to identify signals above the noise levels, if any are present. If a signal is detected above the noise level, this indicates that the oscillator under test just went out of lock. The frequency readout from the synthesized signal generator will be the minimum peak pulling value.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of the frequency generator is further configured to perform a frequency sweep mode of changing at a predetermined frequency over time during operation of the electromagnetic wave detection apparatus to detect the predetermined frequency to provide a faster detection of resonances and distortions across a wide frequency range.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Frozenfar (US 10361781).
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claim 18, Chen does not teach including output-processing the frequency information and the power information in a first in, first out (FIFO) method by an output processor operatively connected to the frequency power detector.
Frozenfar teach including output-processing the frequency information and the power information in a first in, first out (FIFO) method by an output processor ((61) Burst processor 718 receives the digitized RF data 712 and simultaneously stores the received data in its First-In-First-Out (FIFO) 715 memory and measures the RF signal power 716 present in the digitized RF data 712 by the digital signal processor (DSP) 716. RF detect parameters 717 are configured by management processor 521 through control bus-1 (CTRL-1)., Note column 15, lines 25-35) operatively connected to the frequency power detector (752, column 16 lines 22-26).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of including output-processing the frequency information and the power information in a first in, first out (FIFO) method by an output processor operatively connected to the frequency power detector to reduces latency by processing data in real time, which is essential for applications like real-time data monitoring.
Claims 2 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 113671264 A) in view of Charland (US 20120040602) further in view of Aseltine et al. (US 20180321293).
Chen teach the instant invention except the following claim limitations.
Regarding claim 2, Chen does not teach wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device.
Alsetine et al. teach wherein the receiving end portion (7, Fig. 1) , the switch (422, Fig. 2, par. 0026) , the frequency power detector (408, Fig. 2, par. 0026), and the symptom detector (spectrum analyzer 406, par. 0026) are embedded in a single chip device (Note central processing unit par. 0007).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to include the teaching of wherein the receiving end portion, the switch, the frequency power detector, and the symptom detector are embedded in a single chip device to provide a more compact device.
Conclusion
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/DEMETRIUS R PRETLOW/ Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/LEE E RODAK/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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