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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/12/20206 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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) 2, 5-9 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Ashida et al 2019/0237838 (of record).
Ashida et al discloses a filter comprising: a first input/output port 5A (i.e. a first port) ; a second input/output port 5B (i.e. a second port);
a path connecting the first and second input/output ports;
a capacitor C10 and line (i.e. a circuit part ) (per claim 8) provided in the path; and
a dielectric resonators 2B/3B (i.e. at least one cavity resonator ) coupled with the path from an outside of the path in a circuit configuration wherein the dielectric resonator is composed of a plurality of through holes 71T4 and 14T4 (i.e. a conductor) surrounding a 3D region and a stack of dielectric layers (40-60).
A main body (dielectric layers 31-60) includes the stack of dielectric layers , the first and second input/output ports, the path, the capacitor and the dialectic resonators. (per claim 7 and 9)
PNG
media_image1.png
378
458
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With regards to claim 5, the dielectric comprises a plurality of dielectric resonators(2B/3B 2C/3C) .
With regards to claim 6, the plurality of dielectric resonators include first dielectric resonator coupled with the path between the first input/output and the capacitor and the second dielectric resonator is coupled with the second input/output port and the capacitor.
With regards to claim 9, the main body (dielectric layer 31-60) includes a first surface and second surface facing opposite each other.
With regards to claim 12, the first and second ports 5A and 5B are arranged on the first surface (dielectric layer 31) .
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.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashida et al 2019/0237838 (of record) in view of Nimiya et al CN1855613A.
Ashida et al discloses a filter comprising: a first input/output port 5A (i.e. a first port) ; a second input/output port 5B (i.e. a second port);
a path connecting the first and second input/output ports;
a capacitor C10 and line (i.e. a circuit part ) provided in the path; and
a dielectric resonators 2B/3B (i.e. at least one cavity resonator ) coupled with the path from an outside of the path in a circuit configuration wherein the dielectric resonator is composed of a plurality of through holes 71T4 and 14T4 (i.e. a conductor) surrounding a 3D region and a stack of dielectric layers (40-60).
Ashida et al states in paragraph [0003] Among electronic components for use in communication apparatuses are band-pass filters each including a plurality of resonators. Dielectric filters each including a plurality of dielectric resonators are promising as band-pass filters usable in the frequency bands of 10 GHz or higher.
Thus, Ashida et al is shown to teach all the limitation of the claims with the exception of an antenna connected to the second ports.
Nimiya et al discloses that a wireless communication device is used for processing base-band signal of the baseband IC45, processing RFIC44 of the high frequency signal, switching, transceiver 41 converts a balanced signal and unbalanced signal of the balanced-unbalanced converter 43, band-pass filter 42 and an antenna. The antenna is connected to one port of the bandpass filter.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have one port of the dielectric filter of Ashida et al be connected to an antenna as taught by Nimiya et al.
Response to Amendment
The previous non final rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments with respect to claim(s) 2, 4-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 10 and 11 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.
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 KIMBERLY E GLENN whose telephone number is (571)272-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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 571-272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
June 2, 2026
/K.E.G/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Prosecution Insights