DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 5 cites dependency upon claim 5, thus rendering claim 5 and its dependents (claims 6-11) indefinite, as a claim may not be dependent upon itself. Furthermore, as claim 5 cites self-dependency, claim 5 lacks antecedent basis for “the modular wall pieces and modular lid pieces,” “the electrically conductive mounting member,” “the modular circuit block cascade,” and “the input RF probe and the output RF probe.”
For examination purposes, claim 5 will be interpreted as depending upon claim 3, which provides antecedent basis for the above noted elements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537)
As per claim 1:
La Prade et al. discloses in Fig. 1:
A method, comprising: providing an electrically conductive mounting member (frame 52, comprising a single metal structure, col. 3 lines 14-35)
including a grid pattern of mounting holes extending into the electrically conductive mounting member from a first surface thereof (screws 58 secure subsystems to various bosses col. 3 lines 14-35, the screws requiring mounting holes to function, and are placed in a formation that fits a grid pattern);
cascading a plurality of modular circuit blocks on the electrically conductive mounting member (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 and output launch, the input and output launches of the plurality of modular circuit blocks exhibiting the same launch geometry (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)), thus forming a modular circuit block cascade,
each modular circuit block including mounting holes aligned with respective mounting holes of the electrically conductive mounting member (subsystems are mounted to the frame by screws 58 through apertures 82 col. 3 lines 14-52);
removably attaching the modular circuit blocks of the cascade to the electrically conductive mounting member (col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17), by placing screws passing through the mounting holes of the modular circuit blocks into respective mounting holes of the electrically conductive mounting member below;
removably attaching an input RF probe (subsystem 11, which connects to coaxial transition connector 34) at an input end of the cascade by placing screws (58) passing through mounting holes in the input RF probe into respective mounting holes in the electrically conductive mounting member below (screws 58 secure subsystems to various bosses col. 3 lines 14-35, the screws requiring mounting holes to function);
and removably attaching an output RF probe (subsystem 30, which connects to output transition connector 40) at an output end of the cascade by placing screws passing through mounting holes in the input RF probe into respective mounting holes in the electrically conductive mounting member below (col. 3 lines 14-35).
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.
Claims 2-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537) in view of Arvelo et al. (US PGPub 20140307389)
As per claim 2:
La Prade et al. discloses that the modular circuit block cascade is provided in a blind recess (54).
La Prade et al. does not disclose removably attaching modular wall pieces to the electrically conductive mounting member along a perimeter of the modular circuit block cascade.
Arvelo et al. discloses in Fig. 5 a housing (cross braces 396, stiffening rails 398, cold plate 386) for circuit modules (hub chip 304 and optical modules 308, labeled in related Fig. 3, that are electrically connected, para [0040]) that is removably attached (screw attachments are shown in Fig. 5) to a mounting member (circuit card 312) along a perimeter of the circuit modules (circuit modules are within the housing, as seen in related Fig. 3).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the modular housing of Arvelo et al. as an art-recognized alternative/equivalent housing in place of the bosses of La Prade et al. and to further provide the benefits of removing the step of creating a blind recess, allowing flexibility in positioning of the housing walls and providing spacing between circuit blocks, and providing cooling (Arvelo et al., title) to the circuit module cascade (being a multi-component electronic assembly).
As per claim 3:
La Prade et al. discloses removably attaching a lid (cover of cover supporting bosses 57) to walls (cover supporting bosses 57) of the housing to form a removable prototype (circuit block may be used as a prototype) housing surrounding the modular circuit block cascade.
La Prade et al. does not disclose removably attaching modular lid pieces to the modular wall pieces to form a removable prototype housing surrounding the modular circuit block cascade.
Arvelo et al. discloses in Figs. 5 & 6 removably attaching modular lid pieces (cold plates 386) to the modular wall pieces to form a removable prototype (can be used in a prototype assembly) housing surrounding multiple electronic assemblies (para [0017]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the modular lid pieces of Arvelo et al. as an art-recognized alternative/equivalent cover in place of the cover of La Prade et al. and to further provide the benefit of individually providing cooling (Arvelo et al., title and as shown in Fig. 6) to circuit modules of the circuit module cascade (being a multi-component electronic assembly).
As per claim 4:
La Prade et al. discloses testing the cascade of modular circuit blocks (col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17).
La Prade et al. does not disclose testing the cascade of modular circuit blocks in the removable prototype housing via the input RF probe and output RF probe to determine if the cascade of modular circuit blocks meets predetermined specifications.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to test the cascade of modular circuit blocks in the removable prototype housing via the input RF probe and output RF probe to determine if the cascade of modular circuit blocks meets predetermined specifications, as testing via the input and output of the circuit in a prototype housing is a known in the art method of testing a circuit in a prototype environment by measuring overall circuit response.
As per claim 5:
La Prade et al. discloses that the circuit subsystems may be removed from the housing.
La Prade et al. does not disclose removing the modular wall pieces and modular lid pieces from the electrically conductive mounting member; removing the modular circuit block cascade from the electrically conductive mounting member; and removing the input RF probe and the output RF probe from the modular circuit block cascade, thus providing a candidate modular circuit block cascade.
As a consequence of the combination of claim 3, it would be further obvious to remove the modular wall pieces and modular lid pieces from the electrically conductive mounting member; removing the modular circuit block cascade from the electrically conductive mounting member; and removing the input RF probe and the output RF probe from the modular circuit block cascade, thus providing a candidate modular circuit block cascade, as La Prade discloses the removal of subsystems for a variety of reasons, and Arvelo et al. discloses the use of repeatedly removable housing structures so as to provide the benefit of repairing and replacing housing structures, as is well-understood in the art.
As per claim 6:
La Prade discloses: removably attaching the candidate modular circuit block (as the subsystems may be removed from the housing, col. 5 line 62- col. 6 line 17, they may be re-placed in the same or a different housing, such that the modular circuit cascade may be the candidate modular circuit block) cascade to a housing floor of an electrically conductive housing (frame 52, comprising a single metal structure, col. 3 lines 14-35) having a plurality of mounting holes arranged in a grid pattern (screws 58 secure subsystems to various bosses col. 3 lines 14-35, the screws requiring mounting holes to function, and are placed in a formation that fits a grid pattern), the electrically conductive housing including first and second end walls coupled to the housing floor, and first and second side walls coupled to the housing floor (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).
As per claim 7:
La Prade discloses that the electrically conductive housing is a production housing (the housing may be used for production) that exhibits the same geometry as the prototype housing (the housing may be used for either prototyping or production, as neither process inherently requires a different structure, and each apparatus may be tested, repaired, or replaced, which may be functions in either production or prototyping).
As per claim 8:
La Prade et al. discloses removably attaching the candidate modular circuit block cascade to the housing floor is performed by aligning mounting holes in the modular circuit blocks of the candidate modular circuit block cascade with respective mounting holes in the housing floor, and by placing screws passing through the mounting holes of the modular circuit blocks of the candidate modular circuit block cascade into respective mounting holes of the electrically conductive mounting member below (screws 58 secure subsystems to various bosses col. 3 lines 14-35, the screws requiring mounting holes to function, and are placed in a formation that fits a grid pattern).
Claims 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of La Prade et al. (US Patent 4455537) in view of Arvelo et al. (US PGPub 20140307389) as applied to claims 2-8 above, and further in view of Chrzan (US Patent 5065124)
The resultant combination discloses the method of claims 2-8, as rejected above.
As per claim 9:
The resultant combination discloses:
In La Prade et al.:
Removably attaching an input connector (coaxial transition connector 34 and subsystem 11) at the first end wall of the production housing to couple through the first end wall to the input launch of a modular circuit block adjacent the first end wall (subsystem 11 couples from the coaxial transition connector 34 external to the housing through the wall to subsystem 12)
and attaching an output connector (output transistion connector 40 and subsystem 30) to couple through a housing wall to an output launch of a modular circuit block (subsystem 30 couples from the coaxial transition connector 40 external to the housing through the wall to subsystem 29) adjacent the housing wall.
The resultant combination does not disclose:
removably attaching an output connector at the second end wall of the production housing to couple through the second end wall to an output launch of a modular circuit block adjacent the second end wall.
Chrzan discloses:
In Figs. 1a-d:
Conventional microwave circuit carriers comprising an input and an ouput (input/output coax connectors 12 and 14) connector against respective first and second end walls of a microwave circuit module housing (housing 11).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the modular circuit cascade and housing of La Prade in a linear fashion as an obvious variation on the shape of a housing and microwave circuit cascade that is well known in the art taught by Chrzan.
As per claim 10:
The resultant combination does not disclose testing the candidate modular circuit block cascade in the production housing to determine if the candidate modular circuit block cascade meets predetermined specifications.
Chrzan discloses the testing of units for specific applications (hardness tests, col. 1 lines 12-25).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to test the final product prior to ensure that the performance meets the required design specifications, as a well-known method for ensuring quality compliance in manufacturing settings.
As per claim 11:
La Prade discloses the modular circuit blocks of the candidate modular circuit block cascade in a common board (frame 52, such that the frame may be considered a common board, providing a common substrate for the modular circuit blocks) for mounting and use in the production housing.
Conclusion
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 on M-F: 9:30AM-6:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Pascal can be reached on (571) 272-1769. 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/Examiner, Art Unit 2843