DETAILED ACTION
Non-Final Rejection
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 .
Benefit of an Earlier Filing
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 Foreign Application No. (EP) 21207161.7 filed on 9th November, 2021. The certified copy has been filed in Foreign Application No. (EP) 21157026.2 filed on 15th February, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/27/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification (more than 20 pages) has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
The Claim(s) of the instant application are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over the Claim(s) of U.S. Patent No. US 12,298,388 B2 (YASUNOBU et al; hereinafter referred to as YASUNOBU’388); in view of VOGT (US 2014/0050051 A1).
Specifically, Claim(s) 1-20 of YASUNOBU’388 are directed to target detection device and method. The present application is directed to the subject matter with substantially similar features. The Claim(s) of the present application are either anticipated by YASUNOBU’388 or are obvious variants of YASUNOBU’388 in view of prior arts provided in the record. Further, the present application is a continuation application of the application for YASUNOBU’388; and since the Claim(s) were not restricted away from the parent application, they are deemed to be directed to obvious variants of the inventions set forth in the parent application.
The following is a limitation-by-limitation comparison (the difference is in the bold text, and substantially similar concept is underlined) to show how the instant Claim(s) are either anticipated by or unpatentable over the Claim(s) of YASUNOBU’388.
Instant, Claim(s)
YASUNOBU’388
1. A target detection device, comprising:
an underwater acoustic transmission array having a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; and
a signal generator configured to:
steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements,
wherein, to steer the underwater acoustic transmission wave, the signal generator is configured to:
generate a plurality of transmission signals by changing a phase of a base signal over time in accordance with one of a plurality of phase shift/time relationships, each of the plurality of phase shift/time relationships corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements;
input to each underwater acoustic transmission transducer element of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements a corresponding generated transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals; and
transmit the underwater acoustic transmission wave from the underwater acoustic transmission array,
wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for the generation of the plurality of transmission signals so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave non-linearly with time.
1. A target detection device, comprising:
an underwater acoustic transmission array having a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; and
a signal generator configured to:
generate a plurality of transmission signals,
wherein, to generate each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals, the signal generator is further configured to change a phase of a base signal over time in accordance with one of a plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities, each of the plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of transmission signals;
input to each underwater acoustic transmission transducer element of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements a corresponding generated transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals; and
transmit an underwater acoustic transmission wave from the underwater acoustic transmission array, the underwater acoustic transmission wave corresponding to the plurality of transmission signals.
1. A target detection device, comprising:
an underwater acoustic transmission array having a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; and
a signal generator configured to:
steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements,
wherein, to steer the underwater acoustic transmission wave, the signal generator is configured to:
generate a plurality of transmission signals by changing a phase of a base signal over time in accordance with one of a plurality of phase shift/time relationships, each of the plurality of phase shift/time relationships corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements;
input to each underwater acoustic transmission transducer element of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements a corresponding generated transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals; and
transmit the underwater acoustic transmission wave from the underwater acoustic transmission array,
wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for the generation of the plurality of transmission signals so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave non-linearly with time.
7. The target detection device of claim 5,
wherein the emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave changes non-linearly with time.
2. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the signal generator changes the phase of the base signal such that:
a first phase shift amount of a first transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals at a first time is different from a second phase shift amount of the first transmission signal at a second time,
the first phase shift amount and the second phase shift amount are measured with respect to the phase of the base signal, and
the first time is different from the second time.
2. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the signal generator linearly or non-linearly changes the phase of the base signal such that:
a first phase shift amount of a first transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals at a first time is different from a second phase shift amount of the first transmission signal at a second time,
the first phase shift amount and the second phase shift amount are measured with respect to the phase of the base signal, and
the first time is different from the second time.
3. The target detection device of claim 2, wherein the signal generator changes the phase of the base signal such that:
a third phase shift amount of a second transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals at the first time is different from the first phase shift amount of the first transmission signal at the first time,
the third phase shift amount and the first phase shift amount are measured with respect to the phase of the base signal, and
the second transmission signal is different from the first transmission signal.
3. The target detection device of claim 2, wherein the signal generator linearly or non-linearly changes the phase of the base signal such that:
a third phase shift amount of a second transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals at the first time is different from the first phase shift amount of the first transmission signal at the first time,
the third phase shift amount and the first phase shift amount are measured with respect to the phase of the base signal, and
the second transmission signal is different from the first transmission signal.
4. The target detection device of claim 3, wherein a first phase difference between the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal at the first time is different from a second phase difference between the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal at the second time.
4. The target detection device of claim 3, wherein a first phase difference between the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal at the first time is different from a second phase difference between the first transmission signal and the second transmission signal at the second time.
5. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array over said time, and
wherein a carrier of the base signal is a frequency modulated carrier, and
wherein a frequency of the underwater acoustic transmission wave changes over said time in response to the change in the emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave over said time.
5. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the signal generator is further configured to linearly or non-linearly change the phase of the base signal for each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array over said time.
5. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array over said time, and
wherein a carrier of the base signal is a frequency modulated carrier, and
wherein a frequency of the underwater acoustic transmission wave changes over said time in response to the change in the emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave over said time.
6. The target detection device of claim 5,
wherein a carrier of the base signal is a frequency modulated carrier, and
wherein a frequency of the underwater acoustic transmission wave changes over said time in response to the change in the emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave over said time.
6. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein a carrier of the base signal is a single frequency carrier.
8. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein a carrier of the base signal is a single frequency carrier.
7. The target detection device of claim 1, further comprising an underwater acoustic reception array having a plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements,
wherein the underwater acoustic reception array is configured to receive an underwater acoustic reception wave from a target, the underwater acoustic reception wave being based on the underwater acoustic transmission wave,
wherein each underwater acoustic reception element of the plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements is configured to convert the underwater acoustic reception wave into a corresponding reception signal.
9. The target detection device of claim 1, further comprising an underwater acoustic reception array having a plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements,
wherein the underwater acoustic reception array is configured to receive an underwater acoustic reception wave from a target, the underwater acoustic reception wave being based on the underwater acoustic transmission wave,
wherein each underwater acoustic reception element of the plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements is configured to convert the underwater acoustic reception wave into a corresponding reception signal.
8. The target detection device of claim 7, further comprising a processing circuitry configured to calculate an incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave in a first dimension by performing beam forming based on the received reception signals.
10. The target detection device of claim 9, further comprising a processing circuitry configured to calculate an incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave in a first dimension by performing beam forming based on the received reception signals.
9. The target detection device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to extract frequency components from the reception signals to obtain a second incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave, different from the incoming direction, based on a direction-frequency relationship between emission directions of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array and a frequency of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array, and to generate 3D volume data based on the received reception signals, the incoming direction and the second incoming direction.
11. The target detection device of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to extract frequency components from the reception signals to obtain a second incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave, different from the incoming direction, based on a direction-frequency relationship between emission directions of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array and a frequency of the underwater acoustic transmission wave transmitted by the underwater acoustic transmission array, and to generate 3D volume data based on the received reception signals, the incoming direction and the second incoming direction.
10. The target detection device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
extract a plurality of different frequency components from the reception signals,
wherein each frequency component of the plurality of different frequency components corresponds to a different incoming direction in a second dimension, and
wherein the second dimension is different than the first dimension; and
calculate an incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave in the second dimension, based on the extracted plurality of different frequency components.
12. The target detection device of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
extract a plurality of different frequency components from the reception signals,
wherein each frequency component of the plurality of different frequency components corresponds to a different incoming direction in a second dimension, and
wherein the second dimension is different than the first dimension; and
calculate an incoming direction of the underwater acoustic reception wave in the second dimension, based on the extracted plurality of different frequency components.
11. The target detection device of claim 7, wherein directions of arrangement of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements and the plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements are perpendicular.
13. The target detection device of claim 9, wherein directions of arrangement of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements and the plurality of underwater acoustic reception elements are perpendicular.
12. The target detection device of claim 1
wherein the plurality of transmission signals comprises a first, second and third transmission signal corresponding to a respective first, second and third underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements,
wherein the plurality of phase shift/time relationships comprises a first, second and third phase shift/time relationship corresponding to the first, second and third underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements, respectively,
wherein two of the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships have a positive slope while another of the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships has a negative slope, or
wherein two of the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships have a negative slope while another of the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships has a positive slope.
14. The target detection device of claim 1,
wherein the plurality of transmission signals comprises a first, second and third transmission signal,
wherein the plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities comprises a first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship corresponding to the first, second and third transmission signals, respectively,
wherein two of the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships have a positive slope while another of the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships has a negative slope, or
wherein two of the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships have a negative slope while another of the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships has a positive slope.
13. The target detection device of claim 12, wherein the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships intersect at a common time point.
15. The target detection device of claim 14, wherein the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships intersect at a common time point.
14. The target detection device of claim 12, wherein none of the first, second and third phase shift/time relationships has a zero slope.
16. The target detection device of claim 14, wherein none of the first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships has a zero slope.
15. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of phase shift/time relationships comprise a plurality of linear phase shift/time relationships.
See claim 1, wherein “one of a plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”
16. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of phase shift/time relationships comprise a plurality of non-linear phase shift/time relationships.
See claim 1, wherein “one of a plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”
17. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of phase shift/time relationships comprises no discontinuities.
17. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities comprise a plurality of linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities.
17. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of phase shift/time relationships comprises no discontinuities.
18. The target detection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities comprise a plurality of non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities.
18. A target detection method performed by a target detection device having an underwater acoustic transmission array comprising a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements, the target detection method comprising:
steering an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements, wherein the steering comprises:
generating a plurality of transmission signals by changing a phase of a base signal over time in accordance with one of a plurality of phase shift/time relationships, each of the plurality of phase shift/time relationships corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements;
inputting a corresponding generated transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals into one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; and
transmitting the underwater acoustic transmission wave from the underwater acoustic transmission array,
wherein generating the plurality of transmission signals by changing the phase of the base signal is performed so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave non-linearly with time.
19. A target detection method performed by a target detection device having an underwater acoustic transmission array comprising a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements, the target detection method comprising:
generating a plurality of transmission signals,
wherein, for generating each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals, the target detection method further comprises changing a phase of a base signal over time in accordance with one of a plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships that include no discontinuities, each of the plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of transmission signals;
inputting a corresponding generated transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals into one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; and
transmitting an underwater acoustic transmission wave from the underwater acoustic transmission array, the underwater acoustic transmission wave corresponding to the plurality of transmission signals.
19. The target detection method of claim 18, wherein
a phase shift amount of each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals, with respect to the phase of the base signal, varies continuously over the time, and
a phase difference between any two transmission signals of the plurality of transmission signals varies continuously over the time.
20. The target detection method of claim 19, wherein
a phase shift amount of each transmission signal of the plurality of transmission signals, with respect to the phase of the base signal, varies continuously over the time, and
a phase difference between any two transmission signals of the plurality of transmission signals varies continuously over the time.
Claim(s) 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 1 and 7 of YASUNOBU et al (US 12,298,388 B2) hereinafter referred to as YASUNOBU’388; in view of VOGT (US 2014/0050051 A1).
Referring to instant Claim(s) 1, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, “steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; a respective one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for the generation of the plurality of transmission signals”.
VOGT teaches steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements ([0024]: Beamforming, or directional transmission, is a way of altering the radiation pattern or “beam pattern” of a signal source, such as a transducer array; [0028]: phased array is a group of transducers in which the relative phases of the respective signals feeding the transducers are varied in such a way that the effective radiation pattern of the array is reinforced in a specific direction and suppressed in other directions; [0030]: +90o or -90o relative phase produces respective +θ or -θ beam angles, i.e. steering the acoustic transmission beam);
a respective one of the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements ([0030]; [0032]-[0034]; [0038]: an array comprising 16 transducers 201, wherein each transducer 201 is configured to transmit a phase shifted version of the same signal […] mapping particular signals to particular transducers, and in the transmitting embodiment connections 330 are coupled to respective transducers 311 through the multiplexer);
wherein the signal generator is further configured to change the phase of the base signal for the generation of the plurality of transmission signals ([0038]; [0041]-[0042]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the target detection device disclosed in YASUNOBU’388 with steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave by changing the phase of a base signal to generate respective phase-shifted transmission signals for a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements taught in VOGT with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have reinforced the acoustic radiation pattern in a desired transmission direction while suppressing radiation in other directions, thereby providing directional beam steering of the underwater acoustic transmission wave as taught by VOGT ([0028]-[0030]).
Claim(s) 2 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 2 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 2, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 3 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 3 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 3, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 4 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 4, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 5 and 6 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 5, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, the instant claim “to change the phase of the base signal” being broader than that of claim(s) 5 of YASUNOBU’388 which has “to linearly or non-linearly change the phase of the base signal”. One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that “to change the phase of the base signal” to lie within “to linearly or non-linearly change the phase of the base signal”, as such an alignment encompasses such scope.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 8 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 6, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 9 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 7, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 10 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 8, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 11 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 9, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 12 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 10, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 11 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 13 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 11, the claims at issue are identical.
Claim(s) 12 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 14 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 12, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, the instant claim “plurality of phase shift/time relationships”; and “a first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” being broader than that of claim(s) 14 of YASUNOBU’388 which has “plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”; and “a first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”. One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that “plurality of phase shift/time relationships”; and “a first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” to lie within “plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”; and “a first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”, as such an alignment encompasses such scope.
Furthermore, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, “the plurality of transmission signals comprises a first, second and third transmission signal corresponding to a respective first, second and third underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements”.
VOGT teaches the plurality of transmission signals comprises a first, second and third transmission signal corresponding to a respective first, second and third underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements ([0038]; [0041]-[0042]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the target detection device disclosed in YASUNOBU’388 with the plurality of transmission signals comprises a first, second and third transmission signal corresponding to a respective first, second and third underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements taught in VOGT with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have reinforced the acoustic radiation pattern in a desired transmission direction while suppressing radiation in other directions, thereby providing directional beam steering of the underwater acoustic transmission wave as taught by VOGT ([0028]-[0030]).
Claim(s) 13 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 15 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 13, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, the instant claim “first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” being broader than that of claim(s) 15 of YASUNOBU’388 which has “first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”. One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that “first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” to lie within “first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”, as such an alignment encompasses such scope.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 16 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 14, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, the instant claim “first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” being broader than that of claim(s) 16 of YASUNOBU’388 which has “first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”. One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that “first, second and third phase shift/time relationship” to lie within “first, second and third linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationship”, as such an alignment encompasses such scope.
Claim(s) 15 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 1 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 15, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language.
Claim(s) 16 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 1 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 16, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language.
Claim(s) 17 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 17-18 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 17, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, the instant claim “plurality of phase shift/time relationships” being broader than that of claim(s) 17-18 of YASUNOBU’388 which has “plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”. One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that “plurality of phase shift/time relationships” to lie within “plurality of linear or non-linear phase shift/time relationships”, as such an alignment encompasses such scope.
Claim(s) 18 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 19 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 18, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language.
Furthermore, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they include the same limitations, often with the exact same verbatim language, with only a minor change such as, “steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements; generating the plurality of transmission signals by changing the phase of the base signal is performed so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave non-linearly with time”.
VOGT teaches steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave emitted by the plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements ([0024]: Beamforming, or directional transmission, is a way of altering the radiation pattern or “beam pattern” of a signal source, such as a transducer array; [0028]: phased array is a group of transducers in which the relative phases of the respective signals feeding the transducers are varied in such a way that the effective radiation pattern of the array is reinforced in a specific direction and suppressed in other directions; [0030]: +90o or -90o relative phase produces respective +θ or -θ beam angles, i.e. steering the acoustic transmission beam);
generating the plurality of transmission signals by changing the phase of the base signal is performed so as to change an emission direction of the underwater acoustic transmission wave non-linearly with time ([0038]; [0041]-[0042]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the target detection method disclosed in YASUNOBU’388 with steer an underwater acoustic transmission wave by changing the phase of a base signal to generate respective phase-shifted transmission signals for a plurality of underwater acoustic transmission transducer elements taught in VOGT with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have reinforced the acoustic radiation pattern in a desired transmission direction while suppressing radiation in other directions, thereby providing directional beam steering of the underwater acoustic transmission wave as taught by VOGT ([0028]-[0030]).
Claim(s) 19 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claim(s) 20 of YASUNOBU’388 in view of VOGT.
Referring to instant Claim(s) 19, the claims at issue are identical.
Examiner’s Note
Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. However, any citation to specific pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMIE M N'DURE whose telephone number is 571-272-6031. The examiner can normally be reached on 8AM-5:30PM.
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/AMIE M NDURE/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/ABDALLAH ABULABAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
