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 .
Abstract
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
Claim Objections
The amendment filed does not comply with 37 CFR 1.121(c). That is to say, the claims have no status identifiers to indicate whether the claims are amended. This does not need to be corrected, merely note it in your remarks.
Claims 1-2 objected to because of the following informalities: the acronym FMCW in claim 1 line 2 and claim 2 line 1 should be accompanied by the language they represent when first introduced. Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: 1) “A location measurement system” in line 1. It appears that there is no “location measurement” in the “system”. 2) “f_m” in line 7. It appears that it should be “the modulation frequency f_m” for consistency with the following claimed language. 3) “the frequency difference” in line 10. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 4) “the distance” in line 14. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 5) “the reciprocal” in line 24. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 6) “the unit chirp time period” in line 24. It appears that “the” should be “a”. Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities: 1) “A method of measuring a distance” in line 1. It appears that there is no “measuring a distance” in the “method”. 2) “the transmission antenna” in lines 4-5. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 3) “f_m” in line 9. It appears that it should be “the modulation frequency f_m” for consistency with the following claimed language. 4) “the sum” in line 18. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 5) “the frequency difference” in line 19. It appears that “the” should be “a”. 6) “the frequency of the ambient reflection signal” in lines 30-31. It appears that it should be “the ambient reflection signal frequency” for consistency with “the ambient reflection signal frequency” mentioned in lines 25-26. Appropriate corrections are 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 1-3 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 1 recites the limitations: 1) " an FMCW radar" in line 3. It is indefinite because it is not clear whether the " an FMCW radar" in line 3 relates to the " an FMCW radar" mentioned in lines 1-2. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as " [[an]] the FMCW radar". 2) “the FMCW radar” in lines 4, 8, 14-15, 20. It is indefinite because it is not clear which one of the " an FMCW radar" mentioned in lines 1-2 and the " an FMCW radar" mentioned in line 3 “the FMCW radar” in lines 4, 8, 14-15, 20 represents. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as the " an FMCW radar" mentioned in lines 1-2. 3) “it” in line 6. It is indefinite because it is not clear what the “it” in line 6 represents. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the continuous chirp signal”. 4) “the received frequency” in lines 6-7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “received frequency” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the [[received]] frequency of the received continuous chirp signal”. 5) “the signals” in line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “signals” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the signal[[s]] reflected by the ambient object”. 6) “the frequency domain” in line 23. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “frequency domain” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “[[the]] a frequency domain”. 7) “the ambient reflection signals” in lines 27-28. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “ambient reflection signals” is not mentioned. It is not clear whether “the ambient reflection signals” in lines 27-28 relates to the “the continuous chirp signal transmitted through the transmission antenna of the FMCW radar is reflected by an ambient object” mentioned in lines 19-20. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the continuous chirp signal reflected by the ambient object”. 8) “wherein the frequency shift from the periodically appearing ambient reflection signals in the frequency domain is selected as the modulation frequency f_m” in lines 1-3 from bottom. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “frequency shift” is not mentioned and it is not clear whether the “frequency shift” relates to the “wherein the signal reflected by the frequency modulation tag is positioned in the frequency domain shifted by the modulation frequency f m from the ambient reflection signals” mentioned in lines 26-28. Also it is indefinite because as indicated in lines 4-6 from bottom “the signal reflected by the frequency modulation tag is positioned in the frequency domain shifted by the modulation frequency f m from the ambient reflection signals”, “f_m” is known. As indicated “wherein the frequency shift from the periodically appearing ambient reflection signals in the frequency domain is selected as the modulation frequency f_m” in lines 1-3 from bottom, “f_m” is estimated. It is not clear whether “f_m” is known or is estimated. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “wherein [[the]] a frequency shift from the periodically appearing ambient reflection signals in the frequency domain is the modulation frequency f_m”. Appropriate clarifications are required.
Claim 2 recites the limitations: 1) “the frequency” in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “frequency” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the frequency of the continuous chirp signal”. 2) “the modulated signal” in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “modulated signal” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the modulated frequency of the continuous chirp signal by f_m”. 3) “the reflect wave signal” in line 17. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “reflect wave signal” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “ received modulated frequency of the continuous chirp signal by f_m”. 4) “the range frequency” in line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “range frequency” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “[[the]] a range frequency”. 5) “the modulation frequency” in lines 18-19. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “modulation frequency” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the modulation frequency f_m”. 6) “the frequency domain” in line 24. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “frequency domain” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “[[the]] frequency domain”. 7) “the ambient reflection signal frequency” in lines 25-26. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “ambient reflection signal frequency” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “[[the]] ambient reflection signal frequency”. 8) “the tag intermediate signal” in line 28. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because “tag intermediate signal” is not mentioned. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “[[the]] tag intermediate signal”. 9) “calculating the modulation frequency f_m by subtracting the frequency of the ambient reflection signal from the frequency of the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag” in lines 1-3 from bottom. It is indefinite because as indicated in line 9 “modulating the frequency by f_m ” and in line 4-5 from bottom “identifying the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag”, “the tag intermediate signal” is “f_m”, which is known, it is not clear how “the modulation frequency f_m” is calculated again “by subtracting the frequency of the ambient reflection signal from the frequency of the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag”. Because the claim is indefinite and cannot be properly construed, for purposes of examination, this limitation is being interpreted as “the modulation frequency f_m is a difference between the frequency of the ambient reflection signal [[from]] and the frequency of the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag” Appropriate clarifications are required.
Claim 3 is also rejected by virtue of its dependency on claim 2 because dependent claim 3 is unclear, at least, in that it depends on unclear claim 2.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (CN 116184383, hereafter Chen). Please note that in the rejection below, page number is from translated file and paragraph number is from original art file.
Regarding claim 1, Chen (‘383) discloses that A location measurement system of a communication device using an FMCW radar { title (Vehicle Locating Method And System Based On Millimetre Wave Identification Technology); abstract lines 1-5 (The invention claims a vehicle locating method and system based on millimetre wave identification technology, the system comprises a vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar mounted on the to-be-located vehicle and a plurality of millimetre wave tags set on the road side; vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar comprises a transmitter, a receiver and a signal processing module; the emitter is used for periodically emitting the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal to the surrounding environment) }, comprising:
an FMCW radar and a frequency modulation tag { Fig.3; abstract lines 1-3 (The invention claims a vehicle locating method and system based on millimetre wave identification technology, the system comprises a vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar mounted on the to-be-located vehicle and a plurality of millimetre wave tags set on the road side), 5-6 (the millimetre wave tag is used for receiving and modulating the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal,); Examiner’s note: “modulating the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal” for “frequency modulation” };
wherein the FMCW radar transmits, through a transmission antenna, a continuous chirp signal, and the frequency modulation tag receives the continuous chirp signal and reflects it by modulating the received frequency by f_m { Fig.3 (fmod); Fig.4; Fig.5; abstract lines 3-6 (vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar comprises a transmitter, a receiver and a signal processing module; the emitter is used for periodically emitting the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal to the surrounding environment; the millimetre wave tag is used for receiving and modulating the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal,); [0062]
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, [0064]
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; Examiner’s note: “fm” in [0064] for “f_m”};
wherein the FMCW radar receives, through a receiving antenna, a signal reflected by the frequency modulation tag { Fig.3 (fmod); Fig.4; Fig.5; page 5 lines 1-2 (receiving the radar echo signal by using the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar wherein the radar echo signal comprises a tag signal reflected from the millimetre wave tag and other environment echo signals.), 12 (all receiving antenna receives the radar echo signal from the tag,)} and calculates an intermediate signal (IF) by calculating the frequency difference between the transmitted continuous chirp signal and the received signal { Fig.3 (mixer, SIF); page 5 lines 12-13 (firstly, all receiving antenna receives the radar echo signal from the tag, receiving signal and the transmitting signal for mixing sampling to obtain the intermediate frequency signal.); page 6 line 15 (The intermediate frequency signal generated by this can be modelled); [0070]
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};
wherein the calculated intermediate signal is the sum of the modulation frequency f_m modulated by the frequency modulation tag, and a range frequency f_r caused by a time shift due to the distance between the FMCW radar and the frequency modulation tag {[0079]
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; page 5 lines 1-2 (receiving the radar echo signal by using the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar wherein the radar echo signal comprises a tag signal reflected from the millimetre wave tag and other environment echo signals.); page 6 lines 2-4 from bottom (m-th antenna channel receives the intermediate frequency signal can be expressed , n= 1, 2, ..., Ns-1, Ns is the number of samples. is the Doppler shift generated between the vehicle motion and the ith tag,); page 7 lines 10-11 (the intermediate frequency signal sIF (n, l, m) is still a linear frequency modulated signal, and the frequency and phase of the signal and the distance and speed information of the label are closely related); Examiner’s note: formula in [0079] for “sum” };
wherein, when the modulation frequency f_m of the frequency modulation tag is calculated from the intermediate signal, the range frequency f_r caused by the time shift due to the distance can be calculated {[0079]
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};
wherein, when the continuous chirp signal transmitted through the transmission antenna of the FMCW radar is reflected by an ambient object other than the frequency modulation tag and received through the receiving antenna of the FMCW radar, the signals are periodically positioned in the frequency domain at frequencies which are integer multiples of the reciprocal of the unit chirp time period of the continuous chirp signal { page 7 lines 1-2 (the intermediate frequency signal is recorded and the fast Fourier transform is performed in the frequency domain); [0079]
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; A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that for “other environment echo signals”, there is no item fmod in the formula of [0079] because there is no modulation in tag, therefore item
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is the component from the “other environment echo signals”, which corresponds to the claimed language “an ambient object other than the frequency modulation tag”. Therefore
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is for “periodically positioned in the frequency domain at frequencies which are integer multiples of the reciprocal of the unit chirp time period of the continuous chirp signal”};
wherein the signal reflected by the frequency modulation tag is positioned in the frequency domain shifted by the modulation frequency f_m from the ambient reflection signals {[0079]
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; Examiner’s note: Except
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, other items in frequency domain are for “shifted by the modulation frequency f_m”}, and
wherein the frequency shift from the periodically appearing ambient reflection signals in the frequency domain is selected as the modulation frequency f_m {page 7 lines 14-16 (because the Fourier coefficient with the harmonic index k of the fast falling, higher harmonic (k | > 1) is generally lower than the noise background will not be detected. it is easy to find the modulation frequency of the ith tag is the frequency offset); [0086]
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}.
Regarding claim 2, Chen (‘383) discloses that A method of measuring a distance between an FMCW radar and a frequency modulation tag using the FMCW radar and the frequency modulation tag { title (Vehicle Locating Method And System Based On Millimetre Wave Identification Technology); Fig.3; abstract lines 1-3 (The invention claims a vehicle locating method and system based on millimetre wave identification technology, the system comprises a vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar mounted on the to-be-located vehicle and a plurality of millimetre wave tags set on the road side), 5-6 (the millimetre wave tag is used for receiving and modulating the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal,) }, the method comprising:
a radar transmission signal generation operation of generating, by the transmission antenna of the FMCW radar, a continuous chirp signal {Fig.3; abstract lines 3-5 (vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar comprises a transmitter, a receiver and a signal processing module; the emitter is used for periodically emitting the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal to the surrounding environment)}; and
a reflect wave transmission operation of receiving, by a tag receiving antenna provided in the frequency modulation tag, the continuous chirp signal generated in the radar transmission signal generation operation, modulating the frequency by f_m by a modulation unit provided in the frequency modulation tag, and transmitting the modulated signal by a tag transmission antenna of the frequency modulation tag {Fig.3 (MIMO transmit array,STx(t) MIMO receiving array, SBs(t), fmod); abstract lines 3-6 (vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar comprises a transmitter, a receiver and a signal processing module; the emitter is used for periodically emitting the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal to the surrounding environment; the millimetre wave tag is used for receiving and modulating the linear frequency modulation continuous wave signal,); [0062]
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, [0064]
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; Examiner’s note: “fm” in [0064] for “f_m”}; and
a signal receiving operation of receiving, by a receiving antenna provided in the FMCW radar, the modulated signal transmitted in the reflect wave transmission operation {Fig.3 (SRx); Fig.5}; and
a received frequency preprocessing operation of generating an intermediate signal by mixing the continuous chirp signal transmitted from the FMCW radar and the reflect wave signal received in the signal receiving operation {Fig.3 (mixer, SIF); page 5 lines 12-13 (firstly, all receiving antenna receives the radar echo signal from the tag, receiving signal and the transmitting signal for mixing sampling to obtain the intermediate frequency signal.); page 6 line 15 (The intermediate frequency signal generated by this can be modelled); [0070]
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} to calculate the sum of the range frequency and the modulation frequency, which is the frequency difference between the transmitted continuous chirp signal and the received reflect wave signal { [0070]
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; [0079]
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; page 5 lines 1-2 (receiving the radar echo signal by using the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar wherein the radar echo signal comprises a tag signal reflected from the millimetre wave tag and other environment echo signals.); page 6 lines 2-4 from bottom (m-th antenna channel receives the intermediate frequency signal can be expressed , n= 1, 2, ..., Ns-1, Ns is the number of samples. is the Doppler shift generated between the vehicle motion and the ith tag,); page 7 lines 10-11 (the intermediate frequency signal sIF (n, l, m) is still a linear frequency modulated signal, and the frequency and phase of the signal and the distance and speed information of the label are closely related); Examiner’s note: formula in [0079] for “sum” }; and
a frequency domain conversion operation of converting the intermediate signal generated in the received frequency preprocessing operation into the frequency domain { page 7 lines 1-2 (the intermediate frequency signal is recorded and the fast Fourier transform is performed in the frequency domain); [0079]
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}; and
a separated frequency identification operation of identifying the ambient reflection signal frequency periodically located in the intermediate signal of the frequency domain, converted in the frequency domain conversion operation, and identifying the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag {page 7 lines 1-2 (the intermediate frequency signal is recorded and the fast Fourier transform is performed in the frequency domain); [0079]
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; A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that for “other environment echo signals”, there is no item fmod in the formula of [0079] because there is no tag modulation, therefore item
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is the component from the “other environment echo signals”, which corresponds to the claimed language “an ambient object”. Therefore
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is for “periodically positioned in the frequency domain at frequencies which are integer multiples of the reciprocal of the unit chirp time period of the continuous chirp signal”}; and
calculating the modulation frequency fm by subtracting the frequency of the ambient reflection signal from the frequency of the tag intermediate signal modulated by the frequency modulation tag {page 7 lines 14-16 (because the Fourier coefficient with the harmonic index k of the fast falling, higher harmonic (k | > 1) is generally lower than the noise background will not be detected. it is easy to find the modulation frequency of the ith tag is the frequency offset); [0086]
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; Examiner’s note:
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is excluded, therefor “subtracting the frequency of the ambient reflection signal from the frequency of the tag intermediate signal”}.
Regarding claim 3, which depends on claim 2, Chen (‘383) discloses that in the method, wherein the continuous chirp signal generated by the FMCW radar comprises any one of
a periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals,
an intermittent periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals,
a discontinuous periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals, and
a discontinuous and intermittent periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals.
{page 5 lines 7-8 from bottom (the first frequency modulation period, t (0 ≤t ≤T),), 4-5 from bottom (T is the scanning period); page 6 line 10 from bottom (l= 1, 2, ..., L-1. L is frequency modulation period number); [0058]
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}
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 11,903,671 discloses that “the continuous chirp signal generated by the FMCW radar comprises any one of a periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals, an intermittent periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals, a discontinuous periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals, and a discontinuous and intermittent periodic repetition of two or more unit chirp signals” {Fig.6}, which further support the rejection of claim 3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YONGHONG LI whose telephone number is (571)272-5946. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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, 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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/YONGHONG LI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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