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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4, & 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), a reference of record, in view of Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322)
As per claim 1:
La Prade et al. discloses in Fig. 1:
A radio frequency (RF) system (microwave system 10 has an RF input - RF coaxial cable 32, and an RF output - RF transition connector 36), comprising:
an electrically conductive housing (frame 52, comprising a metal structure, col. 3 lines 14-35) including a housing floor (bottom wall 56) having a plurality of mounting holes (subsystems held to the frame by screws 58, col. 3 lines 14-35) arranged in a grid pattern (screws require receiving holes to function, and are placed in a formation that fits a grid pattern), the electrically conductive housing including first and second end walls (modules are placed into recesses such as recess 54, such that the left and right sides of the microwave system 10 forms first and second end walls with the frame 52) coupled to the housing floor (being part of the frame 52), and first and second side walls (top and bottom sides of frame 52 form side walls in accordance with the blind recess 54) coupled to the housing floor (being part of the frame 52);
a cascade of modular circuit blocks (microwave substrate circuits 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, connected by an interconnect arrangement col. 2 lines 51-66), each modular circuit block including an input launch and an output launch that exhibit the same launch geometry as other modular circuit blocks in the cascade (related Figs. 2-4 illustrate a connecting wire (174), spring (148), and boss (130) connecting system utilized for the modular blocks in the cascade (col. 4 lines 21-61), each modular circuit block including mounting holes aligned with corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing (subsystems are mounted to the frame by screws 58 through apertures 82 col. 3 lines 14-52);
a flex jumper (connecting wire 174) connector situated extending between the output launch of one modular circuit block of the plurality of modular circuit blocks to an input launch of another modular circuit block situated adjacent the one modular circuit block (connects conductors 170 and 172 of adjacent subsystems, col. 5 lines 10-23); and
a lid (cover of cover supporting bosses 57) situated on the electrically conductive housing such that the floor, first and second end walls, and first and second side walls together form a cavity for the cascade of modular circuit blocks.
La Prade does not disclose:
respective anchors situated above the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block, wherein the flex jumper connector and anchors provide a solderless interconnect.
Grellman et al. discloses in Figs. 1-2:
a flex jumper (conductor 12 on film material 10, noted as a flexible sheet (col. 2 line 64-col. 3 line 8) connector situated extending between an output launch (conductor 14) and an input launch (conductor 16) adjacent the output launch, and the use of an anchor (bar 22) above the flex jumper, providing a solderless interconnect (contact is made through compression, abstract).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a flex jumper such with electrical contact provide by compression due to anchors as per Grellman et al. as an art-recognized alternative/equivalent method of providing a microwave interconnect that provides the same function and further provides the benefit of not requiring welding, as taught by Grellman et al. (abstract).
It would be further obvious for an anchor of Grellman et al. to be provided at each of the respective output and input launches so as to provide the benefit of applying direct compression for electrical contact at the conductor contact points as is well understood in the art.
As per claim 4:
La Prade et al. discloses a plurality of mounting screws (54) extending through the mounting holes of the modular circuit blocks and corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing to hold the modular circuit blocks to the floor of the electrically conductive housing (subsystems held to the frame by screws 58, col. 3 lines 14-35).
As per claim 17:
La Prade et al. is silent regarding the cascade being a prototype cascade.
The cascade of La Prade et al. may be inherently used as a prototype cascade, as the limitation of being a prototype is a functional limitation that does not provide a structural limitation, and the system of La Prade et al. may be used as or with a prototype system.
As per claim 18:
La Prade et al. is silent regarding the electrically conductive housing being a production housing.
The electrically conductive housing of La Prade et al. may be inherently used as a production housing, as the limitation of being a production housing is a functional limitation that does not provide a structural limitation, and the system of La Prade et al. may be used as or with a production system.
Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), a reference of record, in view of Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Notani et al. (US Patent 5349317).
The resultant combination discloses the RF system of claim 1 as rejected above.
As per claim 2:
The resultant combination discloses in Figs. 4 and 7 of Grellman et al.:
the flex jumper connector can include multiple conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block (Figs. 4 & 7 disclose multiple inserts 52, corresponding to conductor layer 12, wherein the inserts may include a plurality of conductors (col. 4 line 58-col. 5 line 5).
The resultant combination does not disclose:
the flex jumper connector includes ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block.
Notani et al. discloses in Fig. 2:
A flex jumper (transmission tape) that includes ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors (grounding lines 9 and signal line 8) situated atop an output launch of the one modular circuit block and an input launch of an adjacent modular circuit block (chips 2a & 2b).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the flex jumper connector to include ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block as a known in the art alternative/equivalent form of a transmission line (coplanar transmission line) able to provide the same purpose as disclosed by Notani et al. (abstract).
Claim 1, 4-5, 7 & 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chrzan (US Patent 5065124) in view of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), both references of record, and Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322)
As per claim 1:
Chrzan discloses in Figs. 3 (a)-(b) & 5(a)-(c) a radio frequency (RF) system (Title, 40 GHz may be considered RF), comprising:
housing (11 in Fig. 3(a), 70 in Figs. 5(a)-(c)) including a housing floor (bottom), the housing including first and second end walls coupled to the housing floor (sides located at input feedthrough 78 and output feed through 80), and first and second side walls coupled to the housing floor (top and bottom sides of Fig. 5(a));
a cascade of modular circuit blocks (modules 51), each modular circuit block including an input launch and an output launch that exhibit the same launch geometry as other modular circuit blocks in the cascade (as shown in Fig. 3(b));
a flex jumper (ribbon conductor 64) connector situated extending between the output launch of one modular circuit block of the plurality of modular circuit blocks to an input launch of another modular circuit block situated adjacent the one modular circuit block (connects conductors of substrates 60, col. 4 lines 15-64); and
the housing arranged such that the floor, first and second end walls, and first and second side walls together form a cavity (74) for the cascade of modular circuit blocks.
Chrzan further discloses:
The use of hermetically sealed aluminum housing in the prior art (col. 1 lines 54-62).
Chrzan does not disclose:
The housing is an electrically conductive housing including a housing floor having a plurality of mounting holes arranged in a grid pattern.
Each modular circuit block including mounting holes aligned with corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing.
A lid situated on the electrically conductive housing.
Respective anchors situated above the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block, wherein the flex jumper connector and anchors provide a solderless interconnect.
La Prade et al. discloses in Fig. 1 the use of screws (58) to mount circuit modules (microwave substrate circuits 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, & 30) to an electrically conductive housing (frame 52, comprising a metal structure, col. 3 lines 14-35) with a lid (cover of cover supporting bosses 57).
Grellman et al. discloses in Figs. 1-2:
a flex jumper (conductor 12 on film material 10, noted as a flexible sheet (col. 2 line 64-col. 3 line 8) connector situated extending between an output launch (conductor 14) and an input launch (conductor 16) adjacent the output launch, and the use of an anchor (bar 22) above the flex jumper, providing a solderless interconnect (contact is made through compression, abstract).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the housing of Chrzan to be formed of an electrically conductive material such as aluminum with a lid as per the prior art described by Chrzan to provide the benefit of a known housing material that can provide the benefit of being able to be hermetically sealed, as per the prior art described by Chrzan.
It would have been further obvious for the housing to have a plurality of mounting holes arranged in a grid pattern and for the modular circuit blocks to include mounting holes aligned with corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing so as to provide the benefit of an attachment method to secure and remove the circuit modules for replacement, repair, or testing as taught by La Prade et al. (col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17), and to adjust as per the number of modules and the ribbon lengths as per Chrzan (col. 4 lines 16-64).
It would have been further obvious for to use a flex jumper such with electrical contact provide by compression due to anchors as per Grellman et al. as an art-recognized alternative/equivalent method of providing a microwave interconnect that provides the same function and further provides the benefit of not requiring welding, as taught by Grellman et al. (abstract).
It would be further obvious for an anchor of Grellman et al. to be provided at each of the respective output and input launches so as to provide the benefit of applying direct compression for electrical contact at the conductor contact points as is well understood in the art.
As a consequence of the combination:
The housing is an electrically conductive housing including a housing floor having a plurality of mounting holes arranged in a grid pattern.
Each modular circuit block includes mounting holes aligned with corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing.
A lid is situated on the electrically conductive housing.
Respective anchors situated above the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block, wherein the flex jumper connector and anchors provide a solderless interconnect.
As per claim 4:
Chrzan does not disclose:
A plurality of mounting screws extending through the mounting holes of the modular circuit blocks and corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing to hold the modular circuit blocks to the floor of the electrically conductive housing.
La Prade et al. discloses:
A plurality of mounting screws (54) extending through the mounting holes of the modular circuit blocks and corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing to hold the modular circuit blocks to the floor of the electrically conductive housing (subsystems held to the frame by screws 58, col. 3 lines 14-35).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use mounting screws in coordination with corresponding mounting holes in the modular circuit blocks and the electrically conductive housing to provide the benefit of an attachment method to secure and remove the circuit modules for replacement, repair, or testing as taught by La Prade et al. (col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17).
As per claim 5:
Chrzan discloses:
The cascade of modular circuit blocks includes an input end (at coaxial input feedthrough 78) and an output end (at output feedthrough 80), the RF system further comprising: an input connector being situated external to the first end wall of the electrically conductive housing and including a conductive pin that extends through an opening in the first end wall to contact a signal conductor of the input launch of a modular circuit block adjacent the first end wall (Chrzan notes the use of standard microwave connectors to mate with the input and output feedthroughs that are denoted as being coaxial feed throughs, and thus having a center conductor that may be described as a pin extending through the opening of the end wall to contact the input/output launch of the adjacent modular circuit block, col. 5 lines 4-28, and with the positioning of a modular circuit block launch adjacent to an end wall shown in related Fig. 8);
an output connector being situated external to the second end wall of the electrically conductive housing and including a conductive pin that extends through an opening in the second end wall to contact a signal conductor of the output launch of a modular circuit block adjacent the second end wall (Chrzan describes the output and input feed throughs in the same manner, as noted above).
As per claim 7:
Chrzan discloses:
shields between adjacent modular circuit blocks of the cascade (carriers 52 comprise lips 54, which may be interpreted as shields between adjacent the modular circuit blocks, as per Fig. 3(b))
Chrzan does not disclose:
removable shields between adjacent modular circuit blocks of the cascade, the removable shields including mounting holes that are aligned with corresponding mounting holes in the electrically conductive housing.
La Prade et al. discloses in Fig. 1:
the use of screws (58) to mount circuit modules (microwave substrate circuits 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, & 30) to an electrically conductive housing (frame 52, comprising a metal structure, col. 3 lines 14-35).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the carriers with lips of Chrzan to include mounting holes aligned with corresponding mounting holes of the electrically conductive housing so as to provide the benefit of an attachment method to secure and remove the circuit modules for replacement, repair, or testing as taught by La Prade et al. (col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17).
As per claim 17:
Chrzan is silent regarding the cascade being a prototype cascade.
The cascade of Chrzan may be inherently used as a prototype cascade, as the limitation of being a prototype is a functional limitation that does not provide a structural limitation, and the system of Chrzan may be used as or with a prototype system.
As per claim 18:
Chrzan is silent regarding the electrically conductive housing being a production housing.
The electrically conductive housing of Chrzan may be inherently used as a production housing, as the limitation of being a production housing is a functional limitation that does not provide a structural limitation, and the system of Chrzan may be used as or with a production system.
Claim 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Chrzan (US Patent 5065124) in view of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), both references of record, and Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Notani et al. (US Patent 5349317).
The resultant combination discloses the RF system of claim 1 as rejected above.
As per claim 2:
The resultant combination discloses in Figs. 4 and 7 of Grellman et al.:
the flex jumper connector can include multiple conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block (Figs. 4 & 7 disclose multiple inserts 52, corresponding to conductor layer 12, wherein the inserts may include a plurality of conductors (col. 4 line 58-col. 5 line 5).
The resultant combination does not disclose:
the flex jumper connector includes ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block.
Notani et al. discloses in Fig. 2:
A flex jumper (transmission tape) that includes ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors (grounding lines 9 and signal line 8) situated atop an output launch of the one modular circuit block and an input launch of an adjacent modular circuit block (chips 2a & 2b).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the flex jumper connector to include ground, signal, ground (G S G) conductors situated atop the output launch of the one modular circuit block and the input launch of the adjacent modular circuit block as a known in the art alternative/equivalent form of a transmission line (coplanar transmission line) able to provide the same purpose as disclosed by Notani et al. (abstract).
Claim 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Chrzan (US Patent 5065124) in view of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), both references of record, and Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322) as applied to claims 1 & 5 above, and further in view of Buchanan et al. (US Patent 4995815), a reference of record.
The resultant combination discloses the RF system of claims 1 & 5 as rejected above.
As per claim 6:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
a first pin bridge situated at the input launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the first end wall, the first pin bridge including a channel through which the conductive pin of the input connector extends to contact a signal conductor of the input launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the first end wall, the first pin bridge providing an electrically conductive path between the first end wall and a ground conductor of the input launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the first end wall;
a second pin bridge situated at the output launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the second end wall, the second pin bridge including a channel through which the conductive pin of the output connector extends to contact a signal conductor of the output launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the second end wall, the second pin bridge providing an electrically conductive path between the second end wall and a ground conductor of the output launch of the modular circuit block adjacent the second end wall.
Buchanan discloses in Fig. 2:
A coaxial connector (80)
An adjacent launch comprising:
a transmission line (58)
a ground plane (52)
A pin bridge (contact member 62)
Situated between the coaxial connector and the launch
Including a channel (dielectric insulation 67 of coaxial transmission line 64) through which a conductive pin of the coaxial connector extends to contact a signal conductor (transmission line 58) of the adjacent launch
The pin bridge providing an electrically conductive path between the outer conductor and flange of the coaxial conductor and a ground conductor of the launch (mounting member 62 may be made of conductive material, otherwise an outer conductor 70 is provided along the outer edge of the channel to provide contact to the ground layer, col. 4 lines 9-23 & 35-55).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the pin bridge of Buchanan between the coaxial connectors of the resultant combination to the launch of the modular circuit blocks to provide the benefit of an art-recognized transition between a coaxial connection and a transmission line, as disclosed by Buchanan (abstract).
Claims 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Chrzan (US Patent 5065124) in view of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537), both references of record, and Grellman et al. (US Patent 4657322) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kosugi et al. (US Patent 475381), a reference of record.
The resultant combination discloses the RF system of claim 1, as rejected above.
As per claim 11:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
a cross section of the electrically conductive housing exhibits an H geometry, the floor of the electrically conductive housing forming a cross member of the H geometry.
Kosugi discloses in Fig. 1:
A microwave circuit arrangement with two principal surfaces (col. 4 lines 9-26) reflecting a top and bottom of a base plate (31)
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide two principle surfaces to the RF system of the resultant combination by providing an opposing surface to the base of the housing to provide the benefit of increasing the area for circuit placement within the housing without increasing the length, as is shown by Kosugi.
As a consequence of the combination, the electrically conductive housing exhibits an H geometry, the floor of the electrically conductive housing forming a cross member of the H geometry.
As per claim 12:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
electrical circuits situated below the floor of the electrically conductive housing.
Kosugi discloses in Fig. 1:
modular circuit components (microwave circuit components 35) below the floor of the electrically conductive housing (base plate 31)
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the RF system of the resultant combination such that the modular circuits are situated below the floor of the electrically conductive housing merely by inverting the apparatus, and it would further be obvious for modular circuit components to be implemented on each of the principle surfaces as per the combination of claim 11, to provide the benefit of increasing the area for circuit placement within the housing without increasing the length, as is shown by Kosugi.
As per claim 13:
The resultant combination discloses in Chrzan:
the electrical circuits include a bias circuit that provides a bias signal to a modular circuit block of the cascade of modular circuit blocks (lower frequency power supply, col. 5 lines 4-28).
As per claim 14:
The resultant combination discloses in Chrzan:
the electrical circuits include a control circuit that provides a control signal to a modular circuit block of the cascade of modular circuit blocks (control modules, col. 5 lines 4-28).
As per claim 15:
The resultant combination discloses in Chrzan:
the electrical circuits include a power source that provides a power signal to a modular circuit black of the cascade of modular circuit blocks (low frequency power supply, col. 5 lines 4-28).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16 is allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: claim 16 is allowable as including previously indicated allowable material of claims 1 & 8, as per the previous office action. A further search of the art did not disclose or render obvious the limitations of claim 16, thus reaffirming its status as allowable.
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.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see applicant’s remarks, filed 05/07/2021, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under La Prade and Chrzan in view of La Prade have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of La Prade and Chrzan in view of La Prade and further in view of Grellman et al.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 SAMUEL S OUTTEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7123. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30AM-6:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at (571) 272-1988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Samuel S Outten/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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