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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 1-5 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagaishi et al. (JP2022022520; hereinafter Nagaishi) in view of Miyagawa et al. (US20220271436; hereinafter Miyagawa).
Regarding independent claim 1, Nagaishi (figs. 2A-2B) discloses “An antenna unit comprising: a single feed antenna (101T1) which is a sole source of power to the antenna unit (see fig. 2B) and provided on a dielectric body (see dielectric substrate in ¶[0016]), and a pair of parasitic antennas (101T2 and 101T3) provided on one side and another side of the single feed antenna in the dielectric body, wherein the feed antenna includes a feed line (122), and a feed body portion including a radiation element (elements 121) supplied with power through the feed line, the pair of parasitic antennas each include a parasitic body portion that has substantially the same shape as the feed body portion (see fig. 2B), pitches between the feed antenna and the pair of parasitic antennas are substantially equal to each other, and the pitches are each within a range from 0.4+{(V/2)xn} to 0.6K+{(V/2)xn} inclusive (n is an integer that is 0 or more), where X denotes a free space wavelength (¶[0025]; In the case of a MIMO configuration, it is desirable that the antenna spacing between the powered antennas and the parasitic antennas be λ/2, the same as the antenna spacing between the receiving antennas)”.
Nagashi does not disclose “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna”.
However, Miyagawa teaches “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element (1), and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna (see fig. 1)”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Miyagawa and make Nagaishi’s antenna unit wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna, in order to improve resonance by reducing cross talk of elements and improve impedance matching.
Regarding claim 2, Nagaishi disclose “The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the single feed antenna is a horizontal polarized antenna, and the pitches are each 2K or less (¶[0025])”.
Regarding claim 3, Nagaishi discloses “The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the single feed antenna is a vertical polarized antenna, and the pitches are each 1k or less (fig. 2A/B and ¶[0025])”.
Regarding claim 4, Nagaishi discloses “An antenna unit comprising: a single feed antenna (101T1) which is a sole source of power to the antenna unit and provided on a dielectric body (fig. 2A and ¶[0016]), and a pair of parasitic antennas (101T2 and 101T3) provided on one side and another side of the single feed antenna in the dielectric body, wherein the feed antenna includes a feed line (122), and a feed body portion including a radiation element (121) supplied with power through the feed line, the pair of parasitic antennas include a first parasitic antenna provided on one side of the single feed antenna, and a second parasitic antenna provided on another side of the single feed antenna (see fig. 2B), the first parasitic antenna and the second parasitic antenna each include a parasitic body portion that has substantially the same shape as the feed body portion (fig. 2B), and a phase adjustment line extending from an end portion of the parasitic body portion (¶[0030]; The switch unit 110 includes two lines 103 and a switch 104. One end of the first line 103a is connected to the antenna 101T2 and the other end is connected to the switch 104. The switch 104 switches the connection between the antenna 101T2 and the GND102 between the first path and the second path by the switch control circuit 105. The same applies to the switch unit provided in the antenna 101T3. The first path is a path connected to the GND102 through the first line 103a and the second line 103b, and the second path is a path connecting the first line 103a to the GND102 without going through the second line 103b. Both the lines 103 are assumed to have a length of electrical length λ g / 4. Thus, a path difference of λ g / 4 can be generated in the line length as viewed from the input terminal of the parasitic antenna 101T2,101T3 between the case where the first path is selected by the switch 104 and the case where the second path is selected), the single feed antenna is a horizontal polarized antenna, and a sum of a first pitch and a first length and a sum of a second pitch and a second length are each within a range from 0.75e+{(a/2)xn} to 1.05e+{(a/2)n} inclusive (note that n is an integer that is 0 or more),where X denotes a free space wavelength, Xg denotes a wavelength inside a dielectric body, Xe denotes a sum of X and Xg, the first pitch is a pitch between the feed antenna and the first parasitic antenna, the second pitch is a pitch between the feed antenna and the second parasitic antenna, the first length is a length of the phase adjustment line of the first parasitic antenna, and the second length is a length of the phase adjustment line of the second parasitic antenna (¶[0025] and ¶[0030]; In the case of the MIMO configuration, it is desirable that the antenna interval between the feed antenna and the parasitic antenna is also set to λ / 2, which is the same as the antenna interval between the reception antennas", and "The first path is a path connecting to the GND 103 via the first line 103a and the second line 102 b, and the second path is a path connecting the first line 103a to the GND 103 without via the second line 102 b. Each of the lines 103 is assumed to have a length of the electrical length λ g / 4" (N30), and since the total of the lines 103 is λ g / 2, the total with the pitch is (λ g + λ 0) / 2 = λ e / 2)”.
Nagashi does not disclose “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna”.
However, Miyagawa teaches “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element (1), and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna (see fig. 1)”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Miyagawa and make Nagaishi’s antenna unit wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna, in order to improve resonance by reducing cross talk of elements and improve impedance matching.
Regarding claim 5, Nagaishi discloses “An antenna unit comprising: a single feed antenna (101T1) which is a sole source of power to the antenna unit and provided on a dielectric body (fig. 2A and ¶[0016]), and a pair of parasitic antennas (101T2 and 101T3) provided on one side and another side of the single feed antenna in the dielectric body, wherein the feed antenna includes a feed line (122), and a feed body portion including a radiation element (121) supplied with power through the feed line, the pair of parasitic antennas include a first parasitic antenna provided on one side of the single feed antenna, and a second parasitic antenna provided on another side of the single feed antenna (see fig. 2B), the first parasitic antenna and the second parasitic antenna each include a parasitic body portion that has substantially the same shape as the feed body portion (fig. 2B), and a phase adjustment line extending from an end portion of the parasitic body portion (¶[0030]; The switch unit 110 includes two lines 103 and a switch 104. One end of the first line 103a is connected to the antenna 101T2 and the other end is connected to the switch 104. The switch 104 switches the connection between the antenna 101T2 and the GND102 between the first path and the second path by the switch control circuit 105. The same applies to the switch unit provided in the antenna 101T3. The first path is a path connected to the GND102 through the first line 103a and the second line 103b, and the second path is a path connecting the first line 103a to the GND102 without going through the second line 103b. Both the lines 103 are assumed to have a length of electrical length λ g / 4. Thus, a path difference of λ g / 4 can be generated in the line length as viewed from the input terminal of the parasitic antenna 101T2,101T3 between the case where the first path is selected by the switch 104 and the case where the second path is selected), the single feed antenna is a horizontal polarized antenna, and a sum of a first pitch and a first length and a sum of a second pitch and a second length are each within a range from 0.35Xe+{(a/2)xn} to 0.7Xe+{(a/2)n} inclusive (note that n is an integer that is 0 or more),where X denotes a free space wavelength, Xg denotes a wavelength inside a dielectric body, Xe denotes a sum of X and Xg, the first pitch is a pitch between the feed antenna and the first parasitic antenna, the second pitch is a pitch between the feed antenna and the second parasitic antenna, the first length is a length of the phase adjustment line of the first parasitic antenna, and the second length is a length of the phase adjustment line of the second parasitic antenna (¶[0025] and ¶[0030]; In the case of the MIMO configuration, it is desirable that the antenna interval between the feed antenna and the parasitic antenna is also set to λ / 2, which is the same as the antenna interval between the reception antennas", and "The first path is a path connecting to the GND 103 via the first line 103a and the second line 102 b, and the second path is a path connecting the first line 103a to the GND 103 without via the second line 102 b. Each of the lines 103 is assumed to have a length of the electrical length λ g / 4" (N30), and since the total of the lines 103 is λ g / 2, the total with the pitch is (λ g + λ 0) / 2 = λ e / 2)”.
Nagashi does not disclose “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna”.
However, Miyagawa teaches “wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element (1), and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna (see fig. 1)”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Miyagawa and make Nagaishi’s antenna unit wherein the feed antenna includes a plurality of said radiation element, and in a longitudinal direction of the feed antenna, a length of each radiation element as measured along the longitudinal direction of the feed antenna is greater the closer the radiation element is to a longitudinal center of the feed antenna, in order to improve resonance by reducing cross talk of elements and improve impedance matching.
Regarding claim 8, Nagaishi discloses “The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein the pair of parasitic antennas are immediately adjacent to the feed antenna and are directly on opposing sides of the single feed antenna (fig. 2B)”.
Regarding claim 9, Nagaishi discloses “The antenna unit according to claim 4, wherein the pair of parasitic antennas are immediately adjacent to the feed antenna and are directly on opposing sides of the single feed antenna (fig. 2B)”.
Regarding claim 10, Nagaishi discloses “The antenna unit according to claim 5, wherein the pair of parasitic antennas are immediately adjacent to the feed antenna and are directly on opposing sides of the single feed antenna (fig. 2B)”.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagaishi and Miyagawa, further in view of Jia et al. (US20220255229; hereinafter Jia) and Paulotto et al. (US20190020110; hereinafter Paulotto).
Regarding claim 6, Nagaishi discloses the antenna unit according to claim 4 as shown previously.
Nagaishi does not disclose “wherein the first pitch is different from the second pitch, the first length is different from the second length, a sum of the first pitch and the first length and a sum of the second pitch and the second length are substantially equal to each other”.
However, Jia teaches that it is well known in the art to adjust the distance between antennas and parasitic radiators in order to change resonance and bandwidth (¶[0078]; By designing a size of the first antenna radiator 130, a size of the first parasitic radiator 140, and a distance between the first antenna radiator 130 and the first parasitic radiator 140, a resonant frequency point of the first antenna radiator 130 and a resonant frequency point of the first parasitic radiator 140 can be adjusted. When the first frequency point is different from the second frequency point, a bandwidth of the first RF signal can be expanded, such that communication performance of the antenna module 10 can be improved).
Furthermore, Paulotto teaches that it is known in the art to use half a wavelength as the spacing between antennas and parasitic elements (¶[0091]; Parasitic element 174B may be located at a first distance 176 from structures 70-1 and a second distance 178 from structures 70-2. Distance 176 may, for example, be approximately equal to half of the wavelength of operation of the antennas 40B in structures 70-1 and 70-2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Jia and Paulotto and make Nagaishi’s antenna unit wherein the first length is different from the second length, a sum of the first pitch and the first length and a sum of the second pitch and the second length are substantially equal to each other, in order to improve resonance and bandwidth.
Regarding claim 7, Nagaishi discloses the antenna unit according to claim 5 as shown previously.
Nagaishi does not disclose “wherein the first pitch is different from the second pitch, the first length is different from the second length, a sum of the first pitch and the first length and a sum of the second pitch and the second length are substantially equal to each other”.
However, Jia teaches that it is well known in the art to adjust the distance between antennas and parasitic radiators in order to change resonance and bandwidth (¶[0078]; By designing a size of the first antenna radiator 130, a size of the first parasitic radiator 140, and a distance between the first antenna radiator 130 and the first parasitic radiator 140, a resonant frequency point of the first antenna radiator 130 and a resonant frequency point of the first parasitic radiator 140 can be adjusted. When the first frequency point is different from the second frequency point, a bandwidth of the first RF signal can be expanded, such that communication performance of the antenna module 10 can be improved).
Furthermore, Paulotto teaches that it is known in the art to use half a wavelength as the spacing between antennas and parasitic elements (¶[0091]; Parasitic element 174B may be located at a first distance 176 from structures 70-1 and a second distance 178 from structures 70-2. Distance 176 may, for example, be approximately equal to half of the wavelength of operation of the antennas 40B in structures 70-1 and 70-2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Jia and Paulotto and make Nagaishi’s antenna unit wherein the first length is different from the second length, a sum of the first pitch and the first length and a sum of the second pitch and the second length are substantially equal to each other, in order to improve resonance and bandwidth.
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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/AUSTIN M BACK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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