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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
This FINAL action is in response to amendment filed on 05/07/2026.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 10 is/are amended.
Claim(s) 2, 7-9, 11-13 is/are previously presented.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2016183771 A1 SONG, JIANYU (hereinafter Song).
Regarding claim 1, Song discloses: An unmanned aerial vehicle control method with a headless mode (see Song at least [pg. 21, para. 8, beginning with “The method”] The method and device for controlling the UAV based on the headless mode), the unmanned aerial vehicle control method comprising:
receiving a first orientation datum indicative of a heading of a drone and transmitted from the drone via a wireless transmission module of a remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] The attitude sensor is configured to acquire the attitude information of the drone under static or dynamic conditions, and the attitude information of the drone includes a heading angle (head orientation) and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] the flight controller of the drone transmits the attitude information of the drone to the remote controller);
acquiring a second orientation datum indicative of a heading of the remote controller via an electronic compass of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] by combining the data information obtained by both the compass and the IMU, the head orientation of the remote controller can be accurately known);
acquiring an operation angle datum generated by a joystick of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 3, para. 6, beginning with “Monitoring the operation”] Monitoring the operation of the rudder rocker of the remote controller by the user, and obtaining the operating angle value of the rudder rocker);
determining fly angle information of the drone based on a difference between the first orientation datum and a sum of the second orientation datum and the operation angle datum via an operation processor of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] then the processor of the remote controller according to the posture information of the drone and the head orientation of the posture information of the remote controller And the operating angle value of the rudder rocker of the remote controller obtains the target flight direction of the drone); and
generating and transmitting a control signal based on the fly angle information to the drone via the operation processor, so as to control a movement of the drone in the same direction as the operation angle datum irrespective of the heading of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] then directly sends the target flight direction to the flight controller, and the flight controller controls the drone to fly toward the target flight direction and [pg. 2, para. 8, beginning with “Determining a target”] the target flight direction being the same as an operation direction of the rudder rocker).
Regarding claim 2, Song discloses: The unmanned aerial vehicle control method of claim 1, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle control method is applied to the remote controller having the electronic compass (see Song at least [pg. 2, para. 2, beginning with “In order to solve”] a headless operation mode of the remote control operation of the drone), and adapted to control a movement of the drone in the same direction as the operation angle datum (see Song at least [pg. 10, para. 2, beginning with “It can be seen that”] The direction is the same as the direction of operation of the rudder rocker of the remote control, and then the drone is controlled to fly in the direction of the target).
Regarding claim 3, Song discloses: The unmanned aerial vehicle control method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting the control signal corresponding to the fly angle information to the drone via a wireless transmission module of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 19, para. 14, beginning with “The transmitter 1004”] The transmitter 1004 is configured to send remote control information to the drone, where the remote control information includes a target flight direction of the drone); and
receiving the control signal via the drone and adjusting operation of the drone based on the control signal for controlling a flight direction of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] then directly sends the target flight direction to the flight controller, and the flight controller controls the drone to fly toward the target flight direction).
Regarding claim 4, Song discloses: The unmanned aerial vehicle control method of claim 1, wherein the first orientation datum comprises an absolute coordinate orientation as a yaw angle of the drone via inertial measurement, and the second orientation datum comprises an absolute coordinate orientation as a heading angle of the remote controller generated by the electronic compass (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] The attitude sensor is configured to acquire the attitude information of the drone under static or dynamic conditions, and the attitude information of the drone includes a heading angle (head orientation), a pitch angle and a roll angle of the drone wherein the heading angle, being the third counterpart to pitch and roll, is considered to be yaw and [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] An attitude sensor such as an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] by combining the data information obtained by both the compass and the IMU, the head orientation of the remote controller can be accurately known).
Regarding claim 6, Song discloses: A remote controller of controlling a movement of a drone (see Song at least [pg. 2, para. 6, beginning with “Receiving remote”] remote controller and [pg. 21, para. 8, beginning with “The method”] The method and device for controlling the UAV based on the headless mode), the remote controller comprising:
a wireless transmission module adapted to receive a first orientation datum indicative of a heading of the drone and transmitted from the drone (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] The attitude sensor is configured to acquire the attitude information of the drone under static or dynamic conditions, and the attitude information of the drone includes a heading angle (head orientation) and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] the flight controller of the drone transmits the attitude information of the drone to the remote controller and [pg. 4, para. 11, beginning with "A receiver"] a receiver, configured to receive posture information of the drone sent by the drone);
an electronic compass adapted to provide a second orientation datum indicative of a heading of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] by combining the data information obtained by both the compass and the IMU, the head orientation of the remote controller can be accurately known);
a joystick adapted to generate an operation angle datum according to a user's gesture (see Song at least [pg. 23, para. 16, beginning with “Monitoring the operation”] Monitoring the operation of the rudder rocker of the remote controller by the user, and obtaining the operating angle value of the rudder rocker); and
an operation processor electrically connected to the wireless transmission module, the electronic compass and the joystick, the operation processor being adapted to determine fly angle information of the drone based on a difference between the first orientation datum and a sum of the second orientation datum and the operation angle datum via an operation processor of the remote controller, and generate and transmit a control signal based on the fly angle information to the drone, so as to control the movement of the drone in the same direction as the operation angle datum irrespective of the heading of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 19, para. 9, beginning with “As shown in”] the processor 1000 comprising and [pg. 19, para. 12, beginning with “a receiver”] a receiver 1003, configured to receive posture information of the drone sent by the drone and [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] in the processor provided by the embodiment of the present invention, an attitude sensor such as a compass and an IMU is simultaneously disposed and [pg. 13, para. 4, beginning with “The processor”] The processor on the remote controller side monitors the user's operation on the remote controller in real time, including the operation of the remote controller rudder rocker and (see Song at least [pg. 10, para. 9, beginning with “303.”] Determine a relative position of the UAV and the remote controller according to geographic location information of the UAV, geographic location information of the remote controller, and head orientation in posture information of the remote controller and [pg. 10, para. 11, beginning with “304.”] Determine a target flight direction of the drone according to the relative position and an operating angle value of the rudder rocker of the remote controller and [pg. 10, para. 2, beginning with “It can be seen that”] The direction is the same as the direction of operation of the rudder rocker of the remote control, and then the drone is controlled to fly in the direction of the target and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] then directly sends the target flight direction to the flight controller, and the flight controller controls the drone to fly toward the target flight direction and [pg. 2, para. 8, beginning with “Determining a target”] the target flight direction being the same as an operation direction of the rudder rocker).
Regarding claim 7, Song discloses: The remote controller of claim 6, wherein the operation processor utilizes the wireless transmission module to transmit the fly angle information to the drone (See Song at least [pg. 19, para. 14, beginning with “The transmitter 1004”] The transmitter 1004 is configured to send remote control information to the drone, where the remote control information includes a target flight direction of the drone).
Regarding claim 10, Song discloses: An aircraft assembly (See Song at least [pg. 2, para. 1, beginning with “The unmanned aircraft”] unmanned aircraft) comprising:
a drone adapted to provide and transmit a first orientation datum (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] The attitude sensor is configured to acquire the attitude information of the drone under static or dynamic conditions, and the attitude information of the drone includes a heading angle (head orientation) and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] the flight controller of the drone transmits the attitude information of the drone to the remote controller); and
a remote controller of controlling a movement of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 2, para. 6, beginning with “Receiving remote”] remote controller and [pg. 21, para. 8, beginning with “The method”] The method and device for controlling the UAV based on the headless mode), the remote controller comprising:
a wireless transmission module adapted to receive the first orientation datum indicative of a heading of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 1, beginning with “The attitude sensor”] The attitude sensor is configured to acquire the attitude information of the drone under static or dynamic conditions, and the attitude information of the drone includes a heading angle (head orientation) and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] the flight controller of the drone transmits the attitude information of the drone to the remote controller and [pg. 4, para. 11, beginning with "A receiver"] a receiver, configured to receive posture information of the drone sent by the drone);
an electronic compass adapted to provide a second orientation datum indicative of a heading of the remote controller (see Song at least [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] by combining the data information obtained by both the compass and the IMU, the head orientation of the remote controller can be accurately known);
a joystick adapted to generate an operation angle datum according to a user's gesture (see Song at least [pg. 23, para. 16, beginning with “Monitoring the operation”] Monitoring the operation of the rudder rocker of the remote controller by the user, and obtaining the operating angle value of the rudder rocker); and
an operation processor electrically connected to the wireless transmission module, the electronic compass and the joystick, the operation processor being adapted to determine fly angle information of the drone based on a difference between the first orientation datum and a sum of the second orientation datum and the operation angle datum via an operation processor of the remote controller, and generate and transmit a control signal based on the fly angle information to the drone, so as to control the movement of the drone in the same direction as the operation angle datum irrespective of the heading of the drone (see Song at least [pg. 19, para. 9, beginning with “As shown in”] the processor 1000 comprising and [pg. 19, para. 12, beginning with “a receiver”] a receiver 1003, configured to receive posture information of the drone sent by the drone and [pg. 7, para. 9, beginning with “For example, in the processor”] in the processor provided by the embodiment of the present invention, an attitude sensor such as a compass and an IMU is simultaneously disposed and [pg. 13, para. 4, beginning with “The processor”] The processor on the remote controller side monitors the user's operation on the remote controller in real time, including the operation of the remote controller rudder rocker and (see Song at least [pg. 10, para. 9, beginning with “303.”] Determine a relative position of the UAV and the remote controller according to geographic location information of the UAV, geographic location information of the remote controller, and head orientation in posture information of the remote controller and [pg. 10, para. 11, beginning with “304.”] Determine a target flight direction of the drone according to the relative position and an operating angle value of the rudder rocker of the remote controller and [pg. 10, para. 2, beginning with “It can be seen that”] The direction is the same as the direction of operation of the rudder rocker of the remote control, and then the drone is controlled to fly in the direction of the target and [pg. 12, para. 3, beginning with “In the embodiment”] then directly sends the target flight direction to the flight controller, and the flight controller controls the drone to fly toward the target flight direction and [pg. 2, para. 8, beginning with “Determining a target”] the target flight direction being the same as an operation direction of the rudder rocker).
Regarding claim 11, Song discloses: The aircraft assembly of claim 10, wherein the operation processor utilizes the wireless transmission module to transmit the fly angle information to the drone (See Song at least [pg. 19, para. 14, beginning with “The transmitter 1004”] The transmitter 1004 is configured to send remote control information to the drone, where the remote control information includes a target flight direction of the drone).
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.
Claim(s) 5, 8, 9, 12, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song, in view of TW 201810203 A ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER M. (hereinafter Anderson).
Regarding claim 5, Song discloses: The unmanned aerial vehicle control method of claim 1.
Song does not teach: wherein a nose azimuth of the drone is determined based on the first orientation datum, and a control deviation between the heading of the drone and the heading of the remote controller is determined and configured to compensate and correct the operation angle datum for controlling the movement of the drone.
However, Anderson teaches: wherein a nose azimuth of the drone is determined based on the first orientation datum, and a control deviation between the heading of the drone and the heading of the remote controller is determined and configured to compensate and correct the operation angle datum for controlling the movement of the drone (see Anderson at least [pg. 9, beginning with “220”] 220‧‧‧ Azimuth calculation unit and [pg. 6, para. 1, beginning on pg. 5 with “The UAV 250”] From the absolute position of the UAV 250 via the console absolute positioning system receiver (e.g., GPS receiver 204) and its own absolute positioning position, the orientation calculation unit 220 calculates a vector representing the path from the drone to the ground station. A comparison of this vector with the current orientation of the drone based on the digital compass heading allows calculation of the correction command).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the headless drone control method disclosed by Song to include the drone azimuth consideration in direction commands of Anderson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because determining a difference between orientation of a controller and the UAV helps determine a correction factor required to adjust positioning according to desired orientation, as suggested by Anderson (see Anderson at least [pg. 2, para. 4, beginning with “A fixed”] At least one pitch-roll-yaw axis correction command issued to and executed by the flight control system of the vehicle to orient the UAV and its fixed antenna along the desired orientation relative to the ground console).
Regarding claim 8, Song discloses: The remote controller of claim 6.
Song does not teach: wherein the first orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the drone, and the second orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the remote controller.
However, Anderson teaches: wherein the first orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the drone (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 3, beginning with “The ground console”] The UAV 340 includes an absolute positioning receiver (such as a UAV GPS receiver 342)), and the second orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the remote controller (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 4, beginning with “Using the absolute”] the absolute positioning coordinates (e.g., GPS coordinates) from the ground console 300).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified headless drone remote controller disclosed by Song to include the absolute positioning determinations of Anderson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because acquiring and then comparing the absolute orientations of the drone and its remote controller allows for maintaining orientation of the drone according to remote controller inputs and orientation, as suggested by Anderson (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 4, beginning with “Using the absolute”] Repeating this procedure periodically at appropriate intervals enables the UAV 340 to maintain the desired antenna orientation relative to the ground console 300).
Regarding claim 9, Song discloses: The remote controller of claim 6.
Song does not teach: wherein the operation processor determines a nose azimuth of the drone by the first orientation datum, and computes a difference between the first orientation datum and the second orientation datum, so as to calibrate the operation angle datum via the difference for acquiring the fly angle information.
However, Anderson teaches: wherein the operation processor determines a nose azimuth of the drone by the first orientation datum, and computes a difference between the first orientation datum and the second orientation datum, so as to calibrate the operation angle datum via the difference for acquiring the fly angle information (see Anderson at least [pg. 9, beginning with “220”] 220‧‧‧ Azimuth calculation unit and [pg. 6, para. 1, beginning on pg. 5 with “The UAV 250”] From the absolute position of the UAV 250 via the console absolute positioning system receiver (e.g., GPS receiver 204) and its own absolute positioning position, the orientation calculation unit 220 calculates a vector representing the path from the drone to the ground station. A comparison of this vector with the current orientation of the drone based on the digital compass heading allows calculation of the correction command).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the headless drone control method disclosed by Song to include the drone azimuth consideration in direction commands of Anderson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because determining a difference between orientation of a controller and the UAV helps determine a correction factor required to adjust positioning according to desired orientation, as suggested by Anderson (see Anderson at least [pg. 2, para. 4, beginning with “A fixed”] At least one pitch-roll-yaw axis correction command issued to and executed by the flight control system of the vehicle to orient the UAV and its fixed antenna along the desired orientation relative to the ground console).
Regarding claim 12, Song discloses: The aircraft assembly of claim 10.
Song does not teach: wherein the first orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the drone, and the second orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the remote controller.
However, Anderson teaches: wherein the first orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the drone (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 3, beginning with “The ground console”] The UAV 340 includes an absolute positioning receiver (such as a UAV GPS receiver 342)), and the second orientation datum is an absolute coordinate orientation of the remote controller (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 4, beginning with “Using the absolute”] the absolute positioning coordinates (e.g., GPS coordinates) from the ground console 300).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified headless control aircraft assembly disclosed by Song to include the absolute positioning determinations of Anderson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because acquiring and then comparing the absolute orientations of the drone and its remote controller allows for maintaining orientation of the drone according to remote controller inputs and orientation, as suggested by Anderson (see Anderson at least [pg. 6, para. 4, beginning with “Using the absolute”] Repeating this procedure periodically at appropriate intervals enables the UAV 340 to maintain the desired antenna orientation relative to the ground console 300).
Regarding claim 13, Song discloses: The aircraft assembly of claim 10.
Song does not teach: wherein the operation processor determines a nose azimuth of the drone by the first orientation datum, and computes a difference between the first orientation datum and the second orientation datum, so as to calibrate the operation angle datum via the difference for acquiring the fly angle information.
However, Anderson teaches: wherein the operation processor determines a nose azimuth of the drone by the first orientation datum, and computes a difference between the first orientation datum and the second orientation datum, so as to calibrate the operation angle datum via the difference for acquiring the fly angle information (see Anderson at least [pg. 9, beginning with “220”] 220‧‧‧ Azimuth calculation unit and [pg. 6, para. 1, beginning on pg. 5 with “The UAV 250”] From the absolute position of the UAV 250 via the console absolute positioning system receiver (e.g., GPS receiver 204) and its own absolute positioning position, the orientation calculation unit 220 calculates a vector representing the path from the drone to the ground station. A comparison of this vector with the current orientation of the drone based on the digital compass heading allows calculation of the correction command).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the headless drone control method disclosed by Song to include the drone azimuth consideration in direction commands of Anderson. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because determining a difference between orientation of a controller and the UAV helps determine a correction factor required to adjust positioning according to desired orientation, as suggested by Anderson (see Anderson at least [pg. 2, para. 4, beginning with “A fixed”] At least one pitch-roll-yaw axis correction command issued to and executed by the flight control system of the vehicle to orient the UAV and its fixed antenna along the desired orientation relative to the ground console).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/07/2026 have been fully considered.
Applicant's amendments overcome the 35 U.S.C. §101 rejection for claim(s) 1 and 3-5.
Regarding the arguments provided for the 35 U.S.C. §102 rejections of claim(s) 1, 6, and 10, the applicant's arguments have been considered but are not persuasive.
(A) applicant argues, "The applicant would like… In the present application… Comparing to the present application… In conclusion…" (from remarks pages 8-10)
As to point (A), Examiner respectfully disagrees. While Examiner understands that GPS is mentioned in Song as one means for performing the claimed method, Examiner notes that Song also describes using heading information attained with an attitude sensor for the drone headless control method. Specific quotations related to this non-GPS method for headless control are detailed in the prior art rejections above (see 35 U.S.C. 102 above). As written, the amended claim does not preclude usage of the attitude sensor of Song for determining the attitude of the drone for use in the headless mode. Examiner additionally notes that a coordinate system rotational transformation may effectively be interpreted as an addition and/or subtraction of vectors such as headings and as such, under the broadly stated mathematical operations of the instant amended claim, the art still reads on the claimed invention. The cited prior art still uses the orientations of the drone, the remote controller, and the joystick in order to control the drone to move in the direction of the joystick.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2017113648 A1 ZHENG, Weifeng et al. discloses “when the user triggers the headless control key, when the user controls the drone flight by using the somatosensory remote controller, the drone will fly in the user's orientation regardless of the direction of the head of the drone”
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLE ROSE KNUDSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1742. The examiner can normally be reached 1000-1700 ET M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hitesh Patel can be reached at (571) 270-5442. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELLE ROSE KNUDSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/Hitesh Patel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667
9/14/26
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