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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE 10 2023 212 149.2 , filed on December 4th, 2023.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
On page 6, between lines 15 – 20, there are several simple typographical errors where “Mhz” is used rather than the proper unit “MHz”.
On page 24, line 4, the word “presnet” is a typographical error and will be interpreted as “present”.
On page 21, line 5, the word “nanosescond” is a typographical error and will be interpreted as “nanosecond”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fritzin et al. (US 20220057482 A1), hereinafter Fritzin, in view of Hong et al. (US 20210389416 A1), hereinafter Hong, and further in view of Elad et al. (US 10812154 B1), hereinafter Elad.
Regarding claim 1, Fritzin teaches [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
A method for operating a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar network, comprising the following steps:
generating and transmitting signals (Fritzin Figs. 1-3), (Elan Fig. 7, further, Elan Col. 2 lines 57-62 “FIG. 7D is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with analog beamforming in the radio frequency domain. FIG. 7E is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with digital beamforming in the intermediate frequency domain.”), wherein:
(i) the plurality of analog radar sensors and the at least one digital radar sensor transmit in a first modulation method (Fritzin [0007] According to another exemplary embodiment, the method includes generating a first RF radar signal in a first transmission channel of a first radar chip based on an oscillator signal and emitting the first RF radar signal via a first transmitting antenna, wherein the first RF radar signal is modulated depending on a synchronization signal used in the first radar chip.), or (ii) the plurality of analog radar sensors transmits in a first modulation method and the at least one digital radar sensor transmits in a second modulation method, wherein the transmission signals of the first and the second modulation method do not overlap simultaneously in the time range and frequency range;
(Elad Col. 4 Lines 21-26 “The M signals may variously reflect from one or more targets to be received by N receive antennas coupled to N receivers. Each receiver may extract the amplitude and phase, or travel delay associated with each of the M transmit signals, thereby enabling the system to concurrently obtain N*M measurements. ”);
determining a deviation of transmission time points (Fritzin [0047] “In the example shown, the envelopes of the signals s.sub.TX1.4(t) and s.sub.TX2.1(t) are phase-shifted, because the clock signal used in the second radar chip 2 is slightly delayed relative to the clock signal used in the first radar chip 1.”) of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors in relation to one another using the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor (Fritzin [0048] “The diagram (c) from FIGS. 7A-7D shows the superposition y.sub.RX2.1(t) s.sub.TX1.4(t)+s.sub.TX2.1(t) of the signals s.sub.TX1.4(t) and s.sub.TX2.1(t) received by the receiving antenna 62 for the case in which the propagation time difference Δt has not been balanced.”);
adjusting the transmission time points, reception time points, (Fritzin [0018] “FIG. 9 shows an example of a control circuit for adjusting the propagation delay of the system clock signal received from a radar chip and for matching the phase at the output of a transmission channel with a corresponding transmission channel of a neighboring radar chip.”)
evaluating the received signals in at least one of monostatic paths of the analog and digital radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “It should be noted, however, that an antenna that simultaneously functions as a transmitting antenna and as a receiving antenna can also be used (monostatic radar configuration).”) ,
at least one bistatic path from the at least one analog radar sensor to the digital radar sensor, respective bistatic paths between the plurality of analog radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “In this example, the radar device has 1 separate transmitting (TX) and receiving (RX) antennas 5 and 6 respectively (bistatic or pseudo-monostatic radar configuration).”),
and when the plurality of analog radar sensors and the at least one digital radar sensor transmit in the first modulation method, respective bistatic paths from the at least one digital radar sensor to the plurality of analog radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “The transmitting antenna 5 emits an RF signal s.sub.RF(t), which is frequency modulated, for example, with a linear chirp signal (periodic, linear frequency ramp). The emitted signal s.sub.RF(t) is back-scattered at the radar target T and the back-scattered (reflected) signal y.sub.RF(t) is received by the receiving antenna 6.”).
Fritzin fails to teach the limitations below. Elad teaches:
wherein the transmitting of the signals includes using a plurality of analog radar sensors and at least one digital radar sensor (Elan Fig. 7, further, Elan Col. 2 lines 57-62 “FIG. 7D is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with analog beamforming in the radio frequency domain. FIG. 7E is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with digital beamforming in the intermediate frequency domain.” Here Elad teaches the use of both digital and analog beamforming techniques. )
receiving and conditioning reflected signals for digital processing, wherein the at least one digital radar sensor receives the transmitted signals of all radar sensors (Elad Col. 4 Lines 21-26 “The M signals may variously reflect from one or more targets to be received by N receive antennas coupled to N receivers. Each receiver may extract the amplitude and phase, or travel delay associated with each of the M transmit signals, thereby enabling the system to concurrently obtain N*M measurements. ”);
Further, Fritzin in view of Elad fails to teach the limitations below. Hong teaches:
determining a deviation of transmission frequencies (Hong [0033] “The receiver array 220 preferably determines phase, magnitude, and/or frequency information from reflected probe signals, but the receiver array 220 can additionally or alternatively determine any available characteristics of the reflected probe signals.”)
adjusting the transmission frequencies (Hong [0081] “S150 can additionally or alternatively function to reduce the interference effects of probe signals transmitted by the system (e.g., transmitted in S110) on the other radar systems. S152 can include making temporal modifications, phase modifications, frequency modifications, slope modifications, and/or any other suitable probe signal characteristic modifications.”);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Elad and Hong into the invention of Fritzin. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin utilize both digital and analog radar sensors as taught by Elad. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to reduce the costs of the MIMO radar system by utilizing fewer digital radars than analog radar sensors, as it is well known in the art the digital radars require more computational and component complexity than their analog counterparts, as shown in Elad Figs. 7D, 7E.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin to receive all transmitted radar signals using one digital radar sensor as taught by Elad. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus of Fritzin in order to directly compare the measured signals to one reference signal, enabling the calibration process of Fritzin (Elad teaches a calibration circuit, Fig. 7A element 716, where the invention of Fritzin could be utilized) for the set of all transmission antennas.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Elad determine and adjust transmission frequencies as taught by Hong. This is a simple variation of the method of Fritzin, where instead of a time shift one would implement a frequency shift. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus of Fritzin in order to adjust the transmission frequency band to one of lower interference, improving radar performance (See Hong [0021], [0026]).
Regarding claim 2, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong teaches the method of claim 1. Fritzin further teaches:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
prior to the generating and transmitting step, temporally synchronizing the analog and digital radar sensors (Fritzin Figs. 7C, 7D), wherein:
the synchronization includes transmitting a separate radar signal at a predetermined time point to determine a deviation, and adjusting based on the deviation, or
the synchronization is performed using: (a) a trigger signal from at least one of the analog and digital radar sensors and/or (b) a synchronization protocol and/or (c) a clock signal (Fritzin [0044] “The clock signal s.sub.CLK(t) is also referred to as a synchronization signal because the operation of the circuits (especially the digital circuits) in the radar chips 1 and 2 is synchronized by means of the synchronization signal.”).
Regarding claim 3, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong teaches the method of claim 1. Fritzin further teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein:
the first modulation method is an FMCW method (Fritzin [0022] “FIG. 1 illustrates the use of an FMCW radar system as a sensor for the detection (comprising the measurement of distances and speeds and, if applicable, DoA) of objects that are commonly referred to as radar targets.”) with Doppler division multiplexing methods (DDM) or with time division multiplexing methods (TDM) or with code division multiplexing methods (CDM), and/or
the second modulation method is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing method (OFDM) or phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) method (Fritzin [0023] “Other modulation types, such as PMCW (Phase-Modulated Continuous Wave), can also be used.”).
Regarding claim 4, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong teaches the method of claim 1. Fritzin in view of Elad fails to teach the limitation below. Hong teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation of the signals received from the plurality of analog radar sensors includes a demodulation of the received signals (Hong [0053] “However, the signals can additionally or alternatively have any other suitable relationship, preferably wherein different transmitted probe signals are distinguishable from each other (e.g., based on timing, phase effects, other modulation, etc.).”, further, Hong [0067] “Decoding the set of received probe signals S130 can function to convert the received signals (e.g., encoded signals) into signals that can be used to determine information (e.g., relative position and/or velocity) about the targets off of which the signals were reflected.” )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Elad and Hong into the invention of Fritzin. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Elad to utilize both evaluate the received radar signals by a demodulation process as taught by Elad. Modulation of outgoing radar signals is a method by which one could differentiate the different radar transmitters, and in order to retrieve that information on the receiver side one would then need to perform a demodulation. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to enable the differentiation of different transmitters by multiplexing methods, reducing the overall down time of the radar system (See Hong [0048-0053]).
Regarding claim 5, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong, teaches the method according to claim 1. Fritzin further teaches the limitations below [Note: what is not clearly taught is strike-through]:
wherein the plurality of analog radar sensors and the at least one digital radar sensor transmit in the first modulation method (Fritzin [0062] “The bit-stream is the serial representation of a digital word, which can be used as a unique identifier code for a radar sensor.”),
(Elad Col. 5, lines 47-50 “To enable each of the receivers to determine their responses to each of the antennas, some form of transmit multiplexing may be employed so that the receivers can separate out the contributions from each transmitter.”, further Elad Col. 6 Lines 7-13 “For CDMA, each transmitter may operate concurrently, but transmits a waveform that is modulated by a code that is orthogonal to the codes that modulate the waveforms emitted by other transmitters. The waveforms are demodulated and separated upon reception.” Here examiner notes that a demodulation would be considered an optimal filter in a broadest reasonable interpretation. ); or
when the at least one digital radar sensor transmits in the second modulation method, the evaluation of the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor includes separating the monostatic signals of the at least one digital radar sensor from the bistatic signals of the plurality of analog radar sensors using frequency masks.
Fritzin fails to teach the limitation below. Elad teaches:
the evaluation of the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor includes separating the monostatic signals of the at least one digital radar sensor from the bistatic signals of the plurality of analog radar sensors using optimal filters (Elad Col. 5, lines 47-50 “To enable each of the receivers to determine their responses to each of the antennas, some form of transmit multiplexing may be employed so that the receivers can separate out the contributions from each transmitter.”, further Elad Col. 6 Lines 7-13 “For CDMA, each transmitter may operate concurrently, but transmits a waveform that is modulated by a code that is orthogonal to the codes that modulate the waveforms emitted by other transmitters. The waveforms are demodulated and separated upon reception.” Here examiner notes that a demodulation and separation of signals would be considered an optimal filter in a broadest reasonable interpretation. )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Elad into the invention of Fritzin in view of Hong. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Hong to separate the monostatic signals from the bistatic signals as taught in Elad. As Elad teaches the differentiation of all signal paths, this is implicitly taught. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to compare the waveforms of signals transmitted by the digital device to that of the analog devices, thereby enabling the calibration method of Fritzin that directly compares the two signals using a superposition (See Fritzin [0037]-[0041]).
Regarding claim 6, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong, teaches the method according to claim 1. Fritzin in view of Elad fails to teaches the limitations below. Hong teaches:
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
performing a method for interference detection and interference avoidance including:
determining frequency bands without and/or with very low interference from the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor (Hong Fig. 5B, further, Hong [0022] “In one embodiment, detecting such interference can include detecting unexpected features (e.g., spikes) in an intermediate frequency (IF) signal (e.g., waveform), preferably a beat signal (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 5A-5B).”), and
adjusting transmission frequencies of the signals of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to the frequency bands (Hong [0086] “S152 can additionally or alternatively include modifying the probe signal frequencies (e.g., start frequency, bandwidth, etc.). For example, the probe signals can be moved to a different frequency band (e.g., If less interference is present in the new frequency band).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Hong into the invention of Fritzin in view of Elad. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Hong to detect and avoid interference by shifting the transmitted signals to a low-interference frequency band as taught in Hong. This would merely involve changing the frequency parameters of the FMCW pulses, which requires little modification of the invention, and is well known in the art of mutually operating automotive radar systems. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in in order to mitigate the effects of interference from nearby operating radars, thereby improving the overall performance of the radar system (See Hong [0070]-[0082]).
Regarding claim 7, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Hong teach the method of claim 6. Fritzin further teaches [Note: what is not clearly disclosed is strike-through]:
(Fritzin [0018] “FIG. 9 shows an example of a control circuit for adjusting the propagation delay of the system clock signal received from a radar chip and for matching the phase at the output of a transmission channel with a corresponding transmission channel of a neighboring radar chip.”), and/or
the step of adjusting the transmission frequencies of the signals of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to frequency bands without and/or with very low interference is performed with the step of adjusting the transmission time points, reception time points, and transmission frequencies of the signals of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to one another.
Fritzin in view of Elad fails to disclose the limitation below. Hong discloses:
the step of determining the frequency bands without and/or with very low interference from the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor is performed with the step of determining the deviation of the transmission frequencies (Hong Fig. 5A-5B, Hong [0071] “In one embodiment, detecting such interference can include detecting unexpected features (e.g., spikes) in an intermediate frequency (IF) signal (e.g., waveform), preferably a beat signal (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 5A-5B). For example, such unexpected features can be detected by searching for significant deviations from the mean of the beat signal of (e.g., difference, such as absolute difference, between) the transmitted and received probe signals, preferably excluding the expected (e.g., periodic) deviations arising from waveform edges (e.g., transitions between chirps).”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Hong into the invention of Fritzin in view of Elad. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Elad to detect and avoid interference by determining a deviation in transmission frequencies as taught in Hong. When combining the frequencies of the two sensors as shown in Fritzin, this would simply result in a beat signal from which could readily determine a frequency shift with which one would then calibrate the transmitter. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in in order to mitigate the effects of interference between radar sensors, which would be seen as so-called “parallel interference”, thereby improving the overall performance of the radar system (See Hong Fig. 3C, [0021]-[0024]).
Claim(s) 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fritzin et al. (US 20220057482 A1), hereinafter Fritzin, in view of Garrity et al. (US 20210389416 A1), hereinafter Hong, and further in view of Garrity et al. (US 20230128469 A1), hereinafter Garrity.
Regarding claim 8,
A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar network comprising:
a plurality of analog radar sensors, wherein the plurality of analog radar sensors is configured to transmit and receive signals in a first modulation method (Fritzin [0026] “In practical applications, the transmission and reception channels of a radar system are distributed across a small number (e.g. two to 10 or even more) interconnected radar chips.”, further, Fritzin [0022] “The transmitting antenna 5 emits an RF signal s.sub.RF(t), which is frequency modulated, for example, with a linear chirp signal (periodic, linear frequency ramp).” );
, wherein the at least one digital radar sensor is designed to transmit and receive signals in the first modulation method or in a second modulation method (Fritzin [0007] According to another exemplary embodiment, the method includes generating a first RF radar signal in a first transmission channel of a first radar chip based on an oscillator signal and emitting the first RF radar signal via a first transmitting antenna, wherein the first RF radar signal is modulated depending on a synchronization signal used in the first radar chip.),
(Garrity [0048] “As shown in FIG. 5, so long as the power amplifier ON offset time Δt and the frequency offset between transmit channels Δf are sufficiently large, the target echoes from different illuminators or transmit channels will not overlap, and therefore can be unambiguously separated.”), wherein the at least one digital radar sensor is configured to receive the transmitted signals of all radar sensors, and wherein the at least one digital radar sensor and the plurality of analog radar sensors are configured designed to exchange data directly or via an exchange unit (Fritzin [0044] “… and the reception channel RX2.1 receives a superposition s.sub.TX1.4(t)+s.sub.TX2.1(t) of the two amplitude-modulated signals.”, further, Fritzin [0035] “The digital radar signal y[n] is processed further, for example, by the computing unit 40.”); and
a computing unit, wherein the computing unit is configured to determine a deviation of transmission time points (Fritzin [0047] “In the example shown, the envelopes of the signals s.sub.TX1.4(t) and s.sub.TX2.1(t) are phase-shifted, because the clock signal used in the second radar chip 2 is slightly delayed relative to the clock signal used in the first radar chip 1.”) ,
(Garrity [0081] “A corresponding frequency offset is applied to each transmit channel such that all chirps are transmitted with an identical start frequency and identical stop frequency. The effect of the frequency and time offset is equivalent to transmitting distinctly delayed chirps at different transmit channels.”).
Fritzin fails to teach the limitations below. Elad teaches:
at least one digital radar sensor (Elan Fig. 7, further, Elan Col. 2 lines 57-62 “FIG. 7D is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with analog beamforming in the radio frequency domain. FIG. 7E is a schematic of an illustrative configuration for a multi-input receiver with digital beamforming in the intermediate frequency domain.”),
Fritz in view of Elad fails to teach the limitations below. Garrity teaches:
wherein the transmission signals of the first and the second modulation method do not overlap simultaneously in the time range and frequency range (Garrity [0048] “As shown in FIG. 5, so long as the power amplifier ON offset time Δt and the frequency offset between transmit channels Δf are sufficiently large, the target echoes from different illuminators or transmit channels will not overlap, and therefore can be unambiguously separated.”)
and wherein the at least one computing unit is further configured to adjust the transmission time points, reception time points, and transmission frequencies of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to one another (Garrity [0081] “A corresponding frequency offset is applied to each transmit channel such that all chirps are transmitted with an identical start frequency and identical stop frequency. The effect of the frequency and time offset is equivalent to transmitting distinctly delayed chirps at different transmit channels.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Elad and Garrity into the invention of Fritzin in view of Elad. The set of Fritzin, Elad, and Hong are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they all disclose methods for the operation of several radar devices cooperatively, for example in a MIMO network. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin utilize both digital and analog radar sensors as taught by Elad. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus in order to reduce the costs of the MIMO radar system by utilizing fewer digital radars than analog radar sensors, as it is well known in the art the digital radars require more computational and component complexity than their analog counterparts, as shown in Elad Figs. 7D, 7E.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Elad to ensure that the signals of the first and second radar sensors do not overlap in frequency in time as taught by Garrity. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus of Fritzin ensure that the signals of the various radar sensors could be reliably separated and to reduce their mutual interference (See Garrity [0021], [0047-0048]).
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Fritzin in view of Elad to adjust the transmission times and frequencies compared to one another taught by Garrity. One of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to modify the apparatus of Fritzin ensure that the pulse parameters for the set of all radar devices all match, as Fritzin already motivates this process in time (See Fritzin [0043-0046]), the teaching of Garrity also enable this process in frequency in order to reduce detected range ambiguity (See Garrity Fig. 3, [0021] ).
Regarding claim 9 Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
wherein the at least one computing unit is further configured to adjust the transmission time points, reception time points, and transmission frequencies of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to one another in such a way that an evaluation of the received signals is possible in respective bistatic paths between the plurality of analog radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “The transmitting antenna 5 emits an RF signal s.sub.RF(t), which is frequency modulated, for example, with a linear chirp signal (periodic, linear frequency ramp). The emitted signal s.sub.RF(t) is back-scattered at the radar target T and the back-scattered (reflected) signal y.sub.RF(t) is received by the receiving antenna 6.”).
Regarding claim 10, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
The radar network according to claim 8, wherein the at least one digital radar sensor and the plurality of analog radar sensors are configured to be temporally synchronized signal (Fritzin [0044] “The clock signal s.sub.CLK(t) is also referred to as a synchronization signal because the operation of the circuits (especially the digital circuits) in the radar chips 1 and 2 is synchronized by means of the synchronization signal.”).
Regarding claim 11, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
The radar network according to claim 8, wherein the radar network includes a synchronization protocol and/or a separate radar signal and/or a clock signal (Fritzin [0044] “The clock signal s.sub.CLK(t) is also referred to as a synchronization signal because the operation of the circuits (especially the digital circuits) in the radar chips 1 and 2 is synchronized by means of the synchronization signal.”).
Regarding claim 12, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
The radar network according to claim 8, wherein:
the first modulation method is an FMCW method with Doppler division multiplexing methods or with time division multiplexing methods (TDM) or with code division multiplexing methods (CDM), and/or
the second modulation method is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing method (OFDM) or a phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) method (Fritzin [0023] “Other modulation types, such as PMCW (Phase-Modulated Continuous Wave), can also be used.”).
Regarding claim 13, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
The radar network according to claim 8, wherein:
the computing unit is further configured to evaluate the adjusted received signals in at least one of:
monostatic paths of the analog and digital radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “It should be noted, however, that an antenna that simultaneously functions as a transmitting antenna and as a receiving antenna can also be used (monostatic radar configuration).”),
at least one bistatic path from the at least one analog radar sensor to the digital radar sensor sensors (Fritzin [0022] “In this example, the radar device has 1 separate transmitting (TX) and receiving (RX) antennas 5 and 6 respectively (bistatic or pseudo-monostatic radar configuration).”),,
respective bistatic paths between the plurality of analog radar sensors (Fritzin [0048] “The diagram (c) from FIGS. 7A-7D shows the superposition y.sub.RX2.1(t) s.sub.TX1.4(t)+s.sub.TX2.1(t) of the signals s.sub.TX1.4(t) and s.sub.TX2.1(t) received by the receiving antenna 62 for the case in which the propagation time difference Δt has not been balanced.”),
when the plurality of analog radar sensors and the at least one digital radar sensor transmit in the first modulation method, respective bistatic paths from the at least one digital radar sensor to the plurality of analog radar sensors (Fritzin [0022] “The transmitting antenna 5 emits an RF signal s.sub.RF(t), which is frequency modulated, for example, with a linear chirp signal (periodic, linear frequency ramp). The emitted signal s.sub.RF(t) is back-scattered at the radar target T and the back-scattered (reflected) signal y.sub.RF(t) is received by the receiving antenna 6.”); and/or
wherein the computing unit is further configured to determine frequency bands without and/or with very low interference from the signals received by the at least one digital radar sensor and to adjust transmission frequencies of the signals of at least the plurality of analog radar sensors to the frequency bands.
Regarding claim 14, Fritzin in view of Elad, and further in view of Garrity teach the radar network according to claim 8. Fritzin further teaches:
The radar network according to claim 8, wherein the radar network is configured to, prior to the generating and transmitting step, temporally synchronize the analog and digital radar sensors, wherein:
the synchronization includes transmitting a separate radar signal at a predetermined time point to determine a deviation, and adjusting based on the deviation, or
the synchronization is performed using: (a) a trigger signal from at least one of the analog and digital radar sensors and/or (b) a synchronization protocol and/or (c) a clock signal (Fritzin [0044] “The clock signal s.sub.CLK(t) is also referred to as a synchronization signal because the operation of the circuits (especially the digital circuits) in the radar chips 1 and 2 is synchronized by means of the synchronization signal.”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS JAMES HALLORAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8643. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-5pm.
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/T.J.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/PETER M BYTHROW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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