DETAILED ACTION
Claim Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-19 are pending.
Double Patenting
2. 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 obviousness-type 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); and 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 a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(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-l.jsp.
3. Claims 1-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. US 10/854053. Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because: the patent claims include all of the limitations of the instant application claims, respectively. The patent claims also include additional limitations. Hence, the instant application claims are generic to the species of invention covered by the respective patent claims. The limitations sonar device, comprising: reception circuitry configured to acquire sonar data from one or more targets in an underwater environment; and processing circuitry comprising: a target detector configured to generate a binary mask that indicates presence or absence of target based on the sonar data; a first noise filter configured to receive the sonar data, perform first noise filtering on the sonar data to reduce noise in the sonar data, and output first filtered sonar data;a second noise filter configured to receive the sonar data, perform second noise filtering on the sonar data to reduce noise in the sonar data, and output second filtered sonar data, the second noise filtering being different from the first noise filtering; and a selector configured to receive the first filtered sonar data and the second filtered sonar data and select one of the first filtered sonar data and the second filtered sonar data as output based on the binary mask are conventional prior art features and the use of such features in the claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. US 12/386066 would have been obvious and would not have involved a patentable invention. As such, the instant application claims are anticipated by the patent claims and are therefore not patentably distinct therefrom. (See Eli Lilly and Co. v. Barr Laboratories Inc., 58 USPQ2D 1869, "a later genus claim limitation is anticipated by, and therefore not patentably distinct from, an earlier species claim", In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010, "Thus, the generic invention is 'anticipated' by the species of the patented invention" and the instant “application claims are generic to species of invention covered by the patent claim, and since without terminal disclaimer, extant species claims preclude issuance of generic application claims”).
In view of the above, it is noted that the instant application is broader in every aspect than the US patent document and is therefore an obvious variant thereof, thus, allowing this would result in an unjustified or improper timewise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. As to claims 1-19, there is no prior art to reject claims 1-19. An update search needs to be performed after the next response from applicant.
Citation of pertinent Prior Arts
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
i. Taudien (US 11567196 B2) discloses in an underwater active sonar system and method for measuring instrument velocity with respect to a boundary surface is disclosed. The system includes an acoustic transducer configured to transmit and receive a plurality of acoustic beams in different directions. The system also includes a processor configured to detect a boundary surface within each beam; iteratively filter received acoustic signals backscattered from the transmitted beams with an adaptive filter and associated bandwidth that is successively decreased for each iteration; and measure instrument velocity with respect to the boundary surface, and
ii. George (US 10302687 B2) discloses in a measurement system includes a receiver configured to receive a measurement signal indicative of a parameter of a measured object. The measurement system also includes a processor configured to iteratively filter the measurement signal using a threshold value. The processor is also configured to adjust the threshold value for each iteration of filtration and determine a signal-to-noise ratio for each iteration of filtration. The processor is also configured to set a filter threshold value to the threshold value for the iteration based on the signal-to-noise ratio.
Conclusion
6. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fekadeselassie Girma whose telephone number is (571) 270-5886. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday, 9:00 am – 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Davetta Goins can be reached on (571) 272-2957. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Fekadeselassie Girma/
Primary Examiner Art Unit 2689
Prosecution Insights