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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 12/11/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-17 and 19 are currently pending. Amendments to the Specification, drawings, and claims have overcome the non-statutory double patenting rejection, the objections, and 112(b) rejection set forth in the Non-Final Office Action dated 06/12/2025. Claim 18, which is currently amended, remains withdrawn and has therefore not been examined.
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.
Claims 1, 3, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al; (US2015/250022 – of record; “Kim”) in view of IDS document Ma et al. (US 2013/0222201; “Ma”).
Claim 1: Kim discloses (figs. 4 and 10) “An antenna radio-frequency (RF) module (base station of fig. 10, shown below) comprising:
an RF filter (fig. 4, Rx, Tx inside filter housing 120) arranged on a front surface of a board (fig. 10, board B1);
a radiation element module (figs. 4 & 10, antenna unit 15) arranged on a first side of the RF filter (see fig. 10);
and a reflector (annotated fig. 4 shown below, reflection plate 151 and fig. 10, walls 136) integrally formed on the RF filter (see annotated fig. 4 and ¶53, “when the antenna unit 15 is disposed in the inner enclosure, four inner walls 136 functions as an antenna reflection plate”) and arranged between the RF filter (Rx, Tx) and the radiation element module (15) in such a manner as to ground (GND) the radiation element module (15) (as shown in figs. 4 and 6, the radiation element module 15 is connected to the reflector 151 via ground plate 152, and the reflector is connected to walls 134 and floor of filter Rx, Tx) and, at the same time, to serve as an intermediary for dissipating heat generated in the RF filter (Rx, Tx) to the outside (fig. 11, the reflector 151 is connected to heat sinks HS via walls 134 and boards, and therefore serves as an intermediary for dissipating heat generated by the RF filter to the outside via the heat dissipation parts HS)”.
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Kim does not explicitly disclose “a main board, wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of heat-dissipation holes penetrating through the reflector to form an airflow path between the RF filter and the radiation element module”.
Regarding the main board, Kim teaches (¶71) “the board parts B1 to B4 may include boards including one or more of a digital interface module, power amplification units, an up/down converter and a power supply unit. It is apparent that the boards may be diversely arranged in three dimensions in view of the installation direction of the antenna base station or the performance of the internal elements thereof”. Kim therefore teaches “a main board”.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide an RF filter arranged on a surface of a main board, as taught by Kim. Doing so allows the antenna RF module to be mounted at the desired orientation or to obtain the required performance of electronic components on the main board (¶71).
Ma teaches (fig. 4A below) a reflector (420) comprising a plurality of heat-dissipation holes (perforations 421) in the reflector to form an airflow path (¶29, “the antenna reflector 420 also serves as a heat sink, and has various perforations 421 and/or heat dissipating fins 422 that are exposed to free-flowing air”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the RF module of Kim wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of heat-dissipation holes penetrating through the reflector to form an airflow path between the RF filter and the radiation element module, as taught by Ma. Doing so allows for a more compact device that incorporates on-board thermal dissipation (¶29 of Ma) without adversely impacting antenna performance (¶35 of Ma).
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Claim 3: the modified Kim teaches the antenna RF module of claim 1.
Kim discloses (fig. 4) “wherein the reflector (151) comprises: a blocking rib formed on a front surface of the RF filter (Rx, Tx) in a manner that protrudes toward a front direction (z-axis of fig. 2) so that an edge end portion, other than a front surface, of the radiation element module (15) is accommodated in the blocking rib (the outer surface of the reflector 151 and inner surfaces of the adjacent walls 136 form a blocking rib for the radiation element module)”.
Claim 7: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 3.
Kim discloses (see fig. 4) “wherein a seating end portion in which an edge end portion of the radiation element module (15) is seated is formed in an internal surface of the blocking rib of the reflector (the reflector 151 and adjacent walls 136 form a blocking rib for the radiation element module 15)”.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Zhang et al. (US 2022/0294108 – of record; “Zhang”).
Claim 2: the modified Kim discloses the antenna radio-frequency (RF) module of claim 1.
Kim does not explicitly disclose “wherein the RF filter and the reflector are manufactured into one piece of a metal material using a die-casting molding technique”.
However, Zhang teaches (fig. 1, and ¶39) that a reflection plate (202) for an antenna unit (2) may be a part of a cavity (301) of a cavity filter (3). The reflection plate (20) may be the whole of a wall on either side of the cavity (301) or a part of the wall. The materials for the cavity filter (3) may be metal (¶45). Zhang further teaches (¶49) that the cavity (301) may be a bottom plate that is simultaneously formed with the sidewalls (i.e. the reflector) by die casting.
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Zhang to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, wherein the RF filter and the reflector are manufactured into one piece of a metal material using a die-casting molding technique. Doing so reduces the number and volume of elements in the antenna RF module, so as to increase the degree of integration, reduce weight and installation space, and reduce costs (¶70 of Zhang).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Hirata et al. (US 2018/0219277 – of record; “Hirata”) and White (US 7,588,074 – of record).
Claim 4: the modified Kim discloses the antenna radio-frequency (RF) module of claim 3.
Kim does not disclose “wherein the reflector further comprises: a multiplicity of grill pins that protrude outward from an end portion of the blocking rib, and wherein some of the multiplicity of grill pins are formed to extend in such a manner as to overlap a multiplicity of grill pins, respectively, of a reflector adjacent in a leftward-rightward direction”.
Hirata teaches (figs. 3 & 8) a reflector (front surface 31a of base plate 31 that is situated behind antenna units 4 can function as a reflector) comprising a multiplicity of grill pins (heat dissipation fins 32). The reflector (base plate 31) and multiplicity of grill pins (32) can be integrally formed by aluminum die-cast molding (¶49). The multiplicity of grill pins (32) protrude outward from an end portion of a blocking rib (the rear surface 31b of the base plate 31 serves to close the opening of the housing 20 of the radio unit 5, and can be considered to be a blocking rib) and the multiplicity of grill pins extend from all portions of the blocking rib (31b).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Hirata to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, wherein the reflector further comprises: a multiplicity of grill pins that protrude outward from an end portion of the blocking rib. Doing so allows a heat sink and an antenna unit to be mounted in the same region, allowing for miniaturization of the device (¶26 of Hirata). Furthermore, the heat sink unit is less likely to affect the antenna pattern of the antenna unit (¶30 of Hirata).
Hirata teaches multiple radiation element modules (antenna units 4) which are adjacent to one another in a leftward-rightward direction (see fig. 3), and each radiation element module (4) is associated with a portion of reflector (base plate 31) and a multiplicity of grill pins (fins 32). However, Hirata does not teach “some of the multiplicity of grill pins are formed to extend in such a manner as to overlap a multiplicity of grill pins, respectively, of a reflector adjacent in a leftward-rightward direction”.
White teaches (fig. 1) overlapping grill pins (pin fins 26 and 26’).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of White to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma and Hirata, wherein some of the multiplicity of grill pins are formed to extend in such a manner as to overlap a multiplicity of grill pins, respectively, of a reflector adjacent in a leftward-rightward direction. Doing so provides a tortuous path for a cooling fluid (such as air) between the grill pins, thereby improving the efficiency of the heat sink (col. 12, lines 1-5 of White).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Hirata.
Claim 5: the modified Kim discloses the antenna radio-frequency (RF) module of claim 3.
Kim does not disclose “wherein the reflector further comprises: a multiplicity of grill pins formed in such a manner as to protrude outward from an end portion of the blocking rib, and wherein some of the multiplicity of grill pins are formed to extend in an upward-downward direction in a straight line with a multiplicity of grill pins, respectively, of a reflector adjacent in the upward-downward direction”.
Hirata teaches (figs. 3 & 8) a reflector (front surface 31a of base plate 31 that is situated behind antenna units 4 can function as a reflector) comprising a multiplicity of grill pins (heat dissipation fins 32). The reflector (base plate 31) and multiplicity of grill pins (32) can be integrally formed by aluminum die-cast molding (¶49). The multiplicity of grill pins (32) protrude outward from an end portion of a blocking rib (the rear surface 31b of the base plate 31 serves to close the opening of the housing 20 of the radio unit 5, and can be considered to be a blocking rib) and the multiplicity of grill pins extend from all portions of the blocking rib (31b).
Hirata also teaches multiple radiation element modules (antenna units 4) which are adjacent to one another in an upward-downward direction (see fig. 3), and each radiation element module (4) is associated with a portion of reflector (base plate 31) and a multiplicity of grill pins (fins 32).The multiplicity of grill pins (32) extend in an upward-downward direction in a straight line with a multiplicity of grill pins of an adjacent portion of reflector (associated with an adjacent radiation element module 4) (see fig. 3, where all grill pins 32 extend in an upward-downward direction).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Hirata to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, wherein the reflector further comprises: a multiplicity of grill pins formed in such a manner as to protrude outward from an end portion of the blocking rib, and wherein some of the multiplicity of grill pins are formed to extend in an upward-downward direction in a straight line with a multiplicity of grill pins, respectively, of a reflector adjacent in the upward-downward direction. Doing so allows a heat sink and an antenna unit to be mounted in the same region, allowing for miniaturization of the device (¶26 of Hirata). Furthermore, the heat sink unit is less likely to affect the antenna pattern of the antenna unit (¶30 of Hirata).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, Hirata and White, and further in view of Andersson (US 5,796,367 – of record).
Claim 6: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 4.
Kim does not disclose “wherein the radiation element module is arranged to be spaced a gap of half a wavelength from the radiation element module adjacent, and a separation distance between each of the multiplicity of grill pins is set to have 1/10 to 1/20 of the gap between each of the radiation element modules”.
Hirata teaches “wherein the radiation element module (one of the antenna units 4) is arranged to be spaced a gap from the radiation element module adjacent (an adjacent antenna unit 4), and a separation distance between each of the multiplicity of grill pins (heat dissipation fins 32) (¶51, “plurality of heat dissipation fins 32 extend over entire length in the top-bottom direction at a front surface 31 of the base plate 31, and are disposed at predetermined intervals in the right-left direction”)”.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Hirata to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, Hirata and White, wherein the radiation element module is arranged to be spaced a gap from the radiation module adjacent, and a separation distance between each of the multiplicity of grill pins. Doing so allows a heat sink and an antenna unit to be mounted in the same region, allowing for miniaturization of the device (¶26 of Hirata). Furthermore, the heat sink unit is less likely to affect the antenna pattern of the antenna unit (¶30 of Hirata).
Although Hirata does not teach that the gap is half a wavelength, it is well-known in the antenna art to space antenna elements half a wavelength apart (see, for example, ¶19 of Lin et al. - US 2009/0237321).
Hirata does not teach “a separation distance between each of the multiplicity of grill pins is set to have 1/10 to 1/20 of the gap between each of the radiation element modules”.
Andersson (figs. 3 & 4) teaches an antenna unit (1) which includes cooling flanges (12, 15) in a plane below a plurality of radiating units (4). Andersson teaches (col. 3, lines 47-53) that the distance between the cooling flanges is chosen to be small so that edge sections (14) of the cooling flanges together form a ground plane (7). That is, Andersson teaches closely spaced grill pins that form a radiator which ground the antennas and, at the same time, serve as an intermediary for dissipating heat. Although Andersson does not teach the specific distance between each grill pin, Anderson does teach (col. 3, lines 47-53) that the distance should be chosen to satisfy the demand for adequate cooling and to form a ground plane (or reflector).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Andersson to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, Hirata and White, wherein a separation distance between each of the multiplicity of grill pins is set to have 1/10 to 1/20 of the gap between each of the radiation element modules. Doing so allows for adequate cooling and the forming of a reflector (ground plane) with closely spaced grill pins (cooling flanges) (col. 3, lines 47-53).
Furthermore, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Park et al. (US 2020/0244018 – of record; hereinafter Park).
Claim 8: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 1.
Kim discloses (figs. 10 to 14) “further comprising: an amplification unit board (¶71, “power amplification unit B2”) arranged in any one of predetermined spaces (fig. 10, 121) formed in a first side and a second side, respectively, in a width direction of a filter body (120) of the RF filter (Rx, Tx) (¶72, “the first power amplification unit B2 (PAM board) is inserted into the mounting portion 121 of the first outer surface 131 of the filter housing 120”), and electrically connected to the main board (¶70, “boards B1 to B4 may be electrically connected”. Also, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that a main board would be electrically connected to an amplification unit board in order to process, e.g., weak signals received by the antenna which have been amplified)”.
Kim does not disclose the amplification unit board is electrically connected to the main board “by being combined therewith in a socket-pin coupling manner”. However, Kim does teach that the boards may be interconnected through non-illustrated connectors (¶64 of Kim).
Park teaches (fig. 4) two boards (P1 and P2) connected by an RF connector comprising a contact pin (120) which is disposed to penetrate the hollow (100H) of a contact body (110). Park therefore teaches “by being combined therewith in a socket-pin coupling manner”.
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Park to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma, where an amplification unit board is electrically connected to the main board by being combined therewith in a socket-pin coupling manner. Doing so provides a connection between two boards that improves the contact ratio of a contact portion for signal connection, thereby improving the quality of the product (¶8 of Park).
Claim 9: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 8.
Kim discloses (figs. 11 and 14) “wherein the RF filter (Rx, Tx) comprises: a filter heat sink panel (walls 134 of filter body 120) dissipating heat generated from the amplification unit board (B2) from any one of the predetermined spaces to outside the filter body (¶71, “heat generated from the board part may be released to the case 110 as well as the filter housing 120”. Heat can be dissipated to outside the filter body via any of the outer surfaces 134 of the filter body via boards B1 and B3 and heat sinks HS)”.
Claim 10: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 9.
Kim discloses “wherein the filter heat sink panel (walls 134 of filter housing 120) closes an open space in the filter body (the walls of filter housing enclose the filters Rx, Tx) and, at the same time, is brought into surface contact with the amplification unit board (B2) for heat transfer (fig. 10 and ¶72, “boards B1 to B4 are provided on the outer surfaces 131 to 136) so that the heat generated from the amplification unit board is dissipated through filter heat sink pins integrally formed on an external surface of the filter heat sink panel (see fig. 14 and ¶¶80-81, “case 110 covering the filter housing 120 may be an integrated cover, the case 110 configured to have a plurality of plates 111 to 114 coupled to each other. The plates 111 to 114 include a heat dissipation part H2 on the outer surface thereof which forms a heat sink. Inner surfaces 111b to 114b of the plates are brought close to and coupled with the other surfaces of the boards B1 to B4”)”.
Examiner’s note: integrally formed is broadly interpreted as connected together so as to function as a single component.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma and Park, and further in view of Lewin et al. (US 2019/0006262; “Lewin”).
Claim 11: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 9.
Kim does not disclose “wherein at least one male socket that is combined, in a socket-pin coupling manner, with the main board, is provided on the amplification unit board”.
Lewin teaches (¶7, figs. 2 and 3) a controller board (202) that is coupled to an amplifier board (200) via pins (seen in fig. 3 extending from the amplifier board 200). Lewin teaches (¶19) “The controller board 202 may be electrically and mechanically coupled to the amplifier board 200 via pins that electrically interconnect individual conductors and provide mechanical support. The pins may be soldered, friction fitted into connectors or implemented in any other of a wide variety of different ways”.
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Lewin to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma and Park, wherein at least one male socket that is combined, in a socket-pin coupling manner, with the main board, is provided on the amplification unit board. Doing so provides mechanical, as well as, electrical supporting, which leads to a more robust product (¶19 of Lewin).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2019/0268046 – of record; “Kim2”).
Claim 12: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 8.
Kim discloses “wherein at least one of a power amplifier (PA) element is mounted, as an analog amplification element, on the amplification unit board (¶72, “The board parts B1 to B4 and 14 may include boards including one or more of a digital interface module B1 (DIM board), power amplification units B2 and B3 (PAM board)”)”.
Kim does not disclose “a low noise amplifier (LNA) element”.
Kim2 teaches (¶41) a low noise amplifier element.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide a low noise amplifier element on the amplification board, as taught by Kim2, in the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma. Doing so improves signal-to-noise ratio of RF signals in a cost-effective manner.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma and Park, and further in view of So et al. (US 2019/0081443 – of record; “So”).
Claim 13: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 8.
Kim discloses (fig. 10) “wherein the filter body (120) and the radiation element module (15) are electrically connected to each other (the radiation element module 15 is seated in the filter housing 120. The filters Rx and Tx are connected to side walls 134 of the filter body 120, as shown in fig. 4, and are electrically connected to the radiation element module 15. Therefore, the filter body 120 is electrically connected to the radiation element module 15.)”.
Kim does not explicitly disclose “with at least one first coaxial connector in between”.
So teaches (fig. 3) the use of a coaxial connector (coaxial cable C) to connect an RF filter (300) to an antenna.
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of So to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma and Park, with at least one first coaxial connector in between. Doing so enables the transmission of a high frequency signal.
Claim 15: the modified Kim discloses the antenna RF module of claim 8.
Kim discloses (figs. 10 and 11) “wherein a multiplicity of resonators (resonators are shown in fig. 11) in a space in the filter body (120), a multiplicity of cavities being formed in the space (cavities are shown in fig. 11), and the amplification unit board (B2) are electrically connected to each other”.
Kim does not explicitly disclose “with at least one second coaxial connector in between”.
So teaches (fig. 3) the use of a coaxial connector (coaxial cable C) to connect an RF filter (300) to an antenna.
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of So to the antenna RF module of Kim in view of Ma and Park, with at least one second coaxial connector in between. Doing so enables the transmission of a high frequency signal in an antenna system.
Independent claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim2 in view of Zhang and Ma.
Independent claim 17: Kim2 discloses (see figs. 4 & 5 below) “an antenna RF module assembly (abstract, multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) comprising:
a multiplicity of RF filters (band-pass filters 430) arranged on a front surface of a main body (¶87, “a plurality of band-pass filters 430 are closely coupled to a lower surface of the first PCB 420”) in an upward-downward direction and a leftward-rightward direction (see fig. 5);
a multiplicity of radiation element modules (antenna elements 410) arranged on first sides, respectively, of the multiplicity of RF filters (430); and
a reflector (¶87, “at least one ground plane is provided on the first PCB 420, and may function as a reflector for the plurality of antenna elements 410) arranged between each of the multiplicity of RF filters (430) and each of the multiplicity of radiation element modules (410) in such a manner as to ground (GND) each of the multiplicity of radiation element modules (¶87,“at least one ground plane is provided on the first PCB 420, and may function as a reflector for the plurality of antenna elements 410) and, at the same time, to serve as an intermediary for dissipating heat generated in the multiplicity of RF filters to the outside (a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the ground plane is conductive, and will therefore provide a conductive pathway for heat generated by the RF filters)”.
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Kim2 does not explicitly disclose “a reflector integrally formed on an RF filter, wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of heat-dissipation holes penetrating through the reflector to form an airflow path between the RF filters and the radiation element modules”.
Zhang teaches (fig. 1 and ¶39) that a reflection plate (202) for an antenna unit (2) may be a part of a cavity (301) of a cavity filter (3). The reflection plate (20) may be the whole of a wall on either side of the cavity (301) or a part of the wall. The materials for the cavity filter (3) may be metal (¶45).
It would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Zhang to the Kim2 antenna RF module assembly, wherein the reflector is integrally formed on the RF filter. Doing so reduces the number and volume of elements in the antenna RF module assembly, so as to increase the degree of integration, reduce weight and installation space, and reduce costs (¶70 of Zhang).
Zhang does not teach “wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of heat-dissipation holes penetrating through the reflector to form an airflow path between the RF filters and the radiation element modules”.
Ma teaches (fig. 4A below) a reflector (420) comprising a plurality of heat-dissipation holes (perforations 421) in the reflector to form an airflow path (¶29, “the antenna reflector 420 also serves as a heat sink, and has various perforations 421 and/or heat dissipating fins 422 that are exposed to free-flowing air”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the RF module assembly of Kim2 in view of Zhang, wherein the reflector comprises a plurality of heat-dissipation holes penetrating through the reflector to form an airflow path between the RF filter and the radiation element module, as taught by Ma. Doing so allows for a more compact device that incorporates on-board thermal dissipation (¶29 of Ma) without adversely impacting antenna performance (¶35 of Ma).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Ma, and further in view of Viscarra et al. (US 2017/0104277; “Viscarra”).
Claim 19: the modified Kim teaches the antenna RF module of claim 1.
Kim does not disclose “wherein the antenna RF module is not covered by a radome, and exposed to outside air”.
Viscarra teaches an antenna having radiating elements with enhanced heat dissipation (abstract). Viscarra also teaches (¶50) that a radome is not necessary for protecting an antenna from an exterior environment, and an antenna can therefore be exposed to outside air.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to apply the teachings of Viscarra to the module of Kim in view of Ma, wherein the antenna RF module is not covered by a radome, and exposed to outside air. Doing so allows for a module that has a lighter weight and a lower profile than a module having a radome (¶1 of Viscarra).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of the allowable subject matter: The pertinent prior art, as a whole, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be reasonably construed as adequately teaching or suggesting the elements and features of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
For example, regarding claim 14, Kim does not teach, or suggest, at least one coaxial connector provided on an antenna arrangement unit that is formed on a front surface of the filter body in such a manner that the radiation element module is seated on the antenna arrangement unit.
Regarding claim 16, Kim discloses (fig. 10) “the amplification unit board (B2) is arranged in the predetermined space of the filter body (120)”. However, Kim does not teach, or suggest, “wherein the at least one second coaxial connector is provided in the predetermined space that is formed in a lateral portion (outer surface 134) of the filter body (120)”.
Fritze et al. (US 2019/0312339– US equivalent of IDS document KR 20190025025) teach a filter housing (fig. 4, 10b) connected to two amplifier bodies (fig. 4, 10a). The amplifier bodies (10a) are mounted to the sides of the filter housing (10b). However, Fritze et al. do not teach, or suggest, an amplification board formed in a predetermined space on the sides of the filter housing, or a coaxial connector provided in such a predetermined space. Furthermore, the amplifier body of Fritze is made of a cast part, not a PCB (¶56).
Response to Arguments
The Applicant states (pages 21-22 of Remarks) that neither Kim (US 2015/0250022) or Zhang (US 2022/0294108) suggests introducing a plurality of through-holes that would disrupt the shielding integrity and alter the antenna’s electromagnetic performance. The Applicant also states (p. 22 of Remarks) that the claimed heat-dissipation holes are not merely decorative and weight-reducing openings, but are specifically configured to form an airflow path between the RF filter and the radiation element module. However, amended claims 1 and 17 do not specify the number, position, and/or size of the heat-dissipation holes formed in the reflector. The limitation, as currently written, is broad enough to encompass two microscopic holes (much smaller than the operating wavelength of the RF module) in the reflector through which any air present in the devices of Kim or Zhang could flow.
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.
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/ANNA N HAMADYK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845