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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kuzbari et al. (US 20190302231 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kuzbari discloses
A method for calibrating a positioning system (see paragraph 0009, “there is provided a method for calibrating a tag location system “), comprising
transmitting a calibration signal from a calibration device at a first known location (see paragraph 0010, “placing one or more test radio frequency, RF, communication circuits at known locations within a space to be calibrated”; paragraph 0013, “The location of the receivers may also be taken into account in forming the model or generating a calculated location of a tag. The same or different antennas may be used to receive the signals from the tags or test RF communication circuits as those that transfer an RF signal and receive a back-scattered or response signal (e.g. an RFID interrogation and response).”; Fig. 1, reader element 20),
receiving, by the calibration device, a reflection of the calibration signal from a locating element at a second known location, wherein the reflection carries identification information (ID) of the locating element (see Fig. 1, tags elements 40; paragraphs 0011-0012, “receiving a signal from each one of the test RF communication circuit; determining a property of each received signal, wherein the determined property is associated with the known location of the test RF communication circuit that generated the signal”; paragraph 0013, “The location of the source of these test signals are known and associated with the received signals. This may be by using tag identifiers (IDs) within the signals, for example.”),
analysing, using the first known location and the second known location, a characteristic of the reflection to determine a reflective property of the locating element (see paragraph 0013, “generating a model of the calibrated space from the determined properties of the each received signal and associated known locations”); and
storing calibration information comprising the reflective property of the locating element for use during a process for locating a user device (see paragraph 0052, “Preferably, the server may be further configured to store the location of one or more tags. These may be associated with tag identifiers (e.g. unique identifies), locations within a predetermined layout of a vehicle, structure or aircraft. These data may also include expiry dates of items attached to the tags, for example.”; paragraph 0058, “Each tag can receive a signal from the reader and send a signal in response… the signal or response may be the tag's unique identifier or may include other data that is received and processed by the reader.”; paragraph 0059, “The reader may store the information for later retrieval or may be in communication with a central server using a network such as a cellular network, a satellite network or other long-range wireless network”; paragraph 0125, “In a training phase, reference tags may be deployed or located at points of interest with their location information (absolute and relative) stored as labels (or in other formats) and their signal information stored as features or absolute values.”).
Regarding claim 2, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, wherein the ID of the locating element is sent to the calibration device via a back scattering signal, and a same part of the back scattering signal is further used for measuring a phase of a signal used in a calibration process (see paragraph 0013, “The location of the source of these test signals are known and associated with the received signals. This may be by using tag identifiers (IDs) within the signals, for example…The same or different antennas may be used to receive the signals from the tags or test RF communication circuits as those that transfer an RF signal and receive a back-scattered or response signal (e.g. an RFID interrogation and response).”; paragraph 0123, “The angle of arrival (AoA) of the signal may also be used for localisation and AoA may be determined by measuring the phase difference between the received signals (from the same tag) at different antennas or the same antenna located at different locations”).
Regarding claim 3, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, wherein the reflective property is a phase shift or a reflection loss (see paragraph 0014, “Optionally, the property of the received signal may be any one or more of signal strength, amplitude, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), frequency, polarisation, and/or angle of arrival (AoA). Other signal properties may be used.”; paragraphs 0186-0187, “The input of the classifier may include: The measurements of received RSSI/Phase for a tag, as recorded by different antennas.”).
Regarding claim 4, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting data indicating the characteristic of the reflection or the reflective property from the calibration device to a server, wherein storing the calibration information comprises storing the calibration information at the server (see paragraph 0068, “a receiving server configured to receive data from the wireless network interface of the tag reader, the received data including information associated with the data signal (or response to an interrogating signal) from the tag.”; paragraph 0070, “Preferably, the tracking system may further comprise a database configured to store the received data. The database base may be centrally located (e.g. a physical server), cloud based or split between locations (e.g. local to the reader and server).”; paragraph 0071, “the receiving server may receive ad hoc or regular signals from the tag reader or readers.”).
Regarding claim 5, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 4, wherein transmitting the data indicating the characteristic of the reflection or the reflective property from the calibration device to the server comprises:
transmitting the following to the server: a timestamp indicating a time at which a reflected signal was observed by the calibration device (see pg. 8, reader table including “TimeSyncManager”; paragraph 0183, “Antenna measurements may be acquired at discrete locations (for example, at discrete time periods given that the antenna may be moving at a constant speed).”; paragraph 0190, “Localisation of a mobile reader from an unknown specified (starting) point may be followed by tracking path movement. This provides an instant (real time) localisation of the tags.”; paragraph 0174, “Application interface(s) may be included to manage and process data between different elements or components in the system. These application interfaces may provide a more stable and reliable tracking application for real-time processing, with a large data database design, which is preferably extensible.”), the ID of the locating element (paragraph 0013, “The location of the source of these test signals are known and associated with the received signals. This may be by using tag identifiers (IDs) within the signals, for example.”), and phase information of the reflected signal (paragraph 0123, “The angle of arrival (AoA) of the signal may also be used for localisation and AoA may be determined by measuring the phase difference between the received signals (from the same tag) at different antennas or the same antenna located at different locations”).
Regarding claim 6, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, wherein storing the calibration information comprises storing the calibration information locally at the calibration device (see paragraph 0059, “The reader may store the information for later retrieval”).
Regarding claim 7, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, wherein the calibration device is a fixed device; or
the calibration device is a mobile device (see paragraph 0035, “Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of moving the one or more tag readers and receiving signals from the tag after each move.”); or
the calibration device is a user equipment (UE).
Regarding claim 8, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, wherein the locating element is an ambient power tag (see paragraph 0058, “The tag is powered by a mechanical energy harvester, which generates at least sufficient energy to send the data to the reader (and to receive any interrogating signal where used or in range).”; paragraph 0139, “The tag uses a stable and reliable wireless sensor board with an external box or enclosure design that can be used in harsh environments. The tag is self-powered from energy harvested from the operational site and may communicate using a wireless (e.g. Wi-Fi) data connection.”).
Regarding claim 9, Kuzbari discloses
The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a confidence level in the determined reflective property of the locating element;
wherein the confidence level is determined based on one or more of:
a signal strength of the reflection (see paragraph 0014, “Optionally, the property of the received signal may be any one or more of signal strength, amplitude, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), frequency, polarisation, and/or angle of arrival (AoA). Other signal properties may be used.”; paragraph 0123, “the tag reader may include a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) to determine properties or attributes of the received signal. Additionally, measurements of received signals are made using the RSSI acquired from different receiving locations by using a single antenna, using different antennas or an array of antennas. A moving antenna may also be used to simulate an array of antennas. The angle of arrival (AoA) of the signal may also be used for localisation and AoA may be determined by measuring the phase difference between the received signals (from the same tag) at different antennas or the same antenna located at different locations”; paragraph 0125, “The signal properties are mainly received signal strength and AoA measured at different readers but other properties may be used. In a training phase, reference tags may be deployed or located at points of interest with their location information (absolute and relative) stored as labels (or in other formats) and their signal information stored as features or absolute values. The test tags may be distributed throughout the space. The training phase may be carried out using untrained operators. A typical training phase may take up to one or two hours to complete. The training phase may be repeated after changes in the indoor or outdoor environment, such as replacing furniture, for example.”; paragraph 0013, “There may be more than one receiver to improve accuracy. The receiver or receivers may be moved to different receiving locations to increase the data set and accuracy. The test RF communication circuits may also be moved and the process repeated to further increase the number of data points and accuracy.”; paragraph 0127, “ During the testing or calibration phase, tags are deployed and the accuracy of the localisation prediction model may be measured (regression or classification).”; see paragraphs 0185-0189, received measurements input to classifiers for accuracy);
a signal strength difference between multiple reflections; and
a time at which the reflection is received.
Regarding claims 10-17, the same cited sections and rationale for claims 1-9 are applied. The only difference between claims 1-9 and claims 10-17 is that claims 1-9 refer to a method while claims 10-17 refer to an apparatus. The examiner considers Kuzbari paragraph 0001 (“The present invention relates to a system for tracking items using electronic tags and in particular, a system including tags and a tag reader (e.g. RFID tags).”) and Kuzbari Abstract (“Method and system for calibrating a tag location system”) to show that the radar apparatus system performs the radar method of claims 1-9.
Regarding claim 18, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 10 are applied. Kuzbari further discloses
A positioning system for locating a user device, comprising a user device and a plurality of locating elements comprising a locating element at a second location of a calibration system, wherein the positioning system is configured to:
transmit a locating signal from the user device to the plurality of locating elements, each having a known location (see Fig. 1, user device can be tag reader 20);
receive reflections of the locating signal from the locating elements at the user device, wherein each reflection of the locating signal carries identification information of the locating element from which it was reflected;
calculate distances between the user device and the locating elements based on characteristics of the reflections received from the locating elements and calibration information of characteristics of the reflections received from the locating elements stored by the calibration system (see paragraphs 0175-182, “In one example implementation a localisation methodology or procedure may be used to determine locations of a tag or tags. The localisation methodology in this example is composed of two phases. Phase 1 may be described as narrowing the search by using distance activation.”); and
identify the location of the user device based on the calculated distances and the known locations (paragraph 0016, “the method may further comprise the step of determining a location of the one or more tag readers when the signal is received. This enables the location of the tag (or tags) to be determined more accurately.”; paragraph 0018, “the location of the one or more tag readers may be determined from one or more sensors within the one or more tag readers. This allows the position of the tag reader to be taken into consideration when calculating or calibrating the locations of the tag or tags (or items attached to the tags)”);
Regarding claim 19, Kuzbari discloses
The positioning system according to claim 18, configured to identify the location of the user device at the user device (see paragraph 0018, “the location of the one or more tag readers may be determined from one or more sensors within the one or more tag readers.”).
Regarding claim 20, Kuzbari discloses
The positioning system according to claim 18, configured to identify the location of the user device at a server (see paragraph 0142, server can monitor tags, send signals to tag reader, receive signals from tag reader, and record data in a database. New tag locations may also be reported to the server; paragraph 0272, “A software platform, including applications for mobile devices (e.g. laptops and tablets) is provided to calibrate and use the tags to monitor items, their presence and locations. Components of the software platform include a server.”).
Additional Relevant Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure and may be found on the accompanying PTO-892 Notice of References Cited:
Carrick et al. (US 20100109844 A1); Apparatus and methods are described which are useful for determining a location characteristic between an RFID tag and an RFID tag reader or a second RFID tag. In various embodiments, signals backscattered from a singulated tag over a range of frequencies are evaluated for in-phase I and in-quadrature Q signal components. The I-Q data is processed to determine phase delay angles associated with each signal frequency. The phase delay data can be processed by a sum of squared errors method or Fourier transform method to determine a distance to the singulated tag. The methods can also be used to determine any of a location, a radial velocity, a directional velocity of the singulated tag, and proximity of the singulated tag to a second tag.
Raynesford et al. (US 20160370454 A1); Systems (100) and methods (600) for determining a location of an object within space. The methods comprise: generating Inertial Reference Measurement Data (“IRMD”); reading RFID inventory tags by an RFID reader; processing IRMD to determine an RFID reader orientation and position estimates at a time of each RFID inventory tag read; defining cones associated with each RFID inventory tag; mapping the cones to a model; analyzing the model to identify a set of cones which overlap each other and are associated with reads for a respective RFID inventory tag; and deriving a position estimate for the respective inventory tag based on intersecting portions of the cones in the set of cones. Each cone has: a vertex which is the RFID reader position estimate at a respective time; and an angle which is in inverse proportion to a signal strength of a signal received from a respective RFID inventory tag.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISABELLA A EDRADA whose telephone number is (571)272-4859. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9am-5pm ET.
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/ISABELLA A EDRADA/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
