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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status
This instant application No. 18/219209 has claims 1-22 pending.
Priority /Filing Date
Applicant claimed Foreign Priority from Korean Application No. KR10-2022-0174638. The priority filing date of this application is December 14, 2022.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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.
3. Claims 1-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Stav et al. hereafter Stav (Pub. No.: US 2021/0184340 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Stav discloses a method for designing a radome spaced apart from a substrate body to which a transmission antenna, a reception antenna and a signal processing chip are mounted (Stav: abstract, [0029]), the method comprising:
defining a first design parameter for designing the radome and a second design parameter for designing the radome (Stav: [0096], [0102], [0104]);
defining a first determination parameter, a second determination parameter and a third determination parameter indicating distortion characteristics of a transmission signal or a reception signal caused by the radome (Stav: Figures 7-9, [0105], [0107]-[0109]);
while changing a value of the first design parameter of the radome within a first design range and a value of the second design parameter of the radome within a second design range, determining first, second and third difference values which are differences between first values of the first, second and third determination parameters in a case that the radome is present and second values of the first, second and third determination parameters in another case that the radome is not present, respectively (Stav: Figures 9-25, [0109]-[0125]); and
determining a final value of the first design parameter and a final value of the second design parameter when the first difference value, the second difference value and the third difference value are within a first (Stav: [0107]-[0109], [0124]-[0133], [0140]- [0150]).
Stav doesnot explicitly disclose different threshold ranges.
However, Stav, in aforesaid citations disclose different working ranges of performance parameters, which is analogous to the claimed threshold ranges and could easily be conceived by one of ordinary skill in the art.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to improve the performance of the radome.
Regarding Claim 2, Stav further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first design parameter is a thickness of the radome, and the second design parameter is a distance between the radome and the substrate body (Stav: [0096], [0102], [0104]).
Regarding Claim 3, Stav further discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the first determination parameter is a central peak power of a 2-way transmission or reception signal defined by at least one of the transmission signal and the reception signal, the second determination parameter is a beam width of the 2-way transmission or reception signal, and the third determination parameter is a beam error within a field of view (Stav: Figures 7-9, [0012], [0105], [0107]-[0109]).
Regarding Claim 4, Stav further discloses the method of claim 3, further comprising determining initial values of the first design parameter and the second design parameter based on a permittivity of material of the radome and a wavelength of the 2-way transmission or reception signal, wherein the first design range and the second design range are determined based on the initial values of the first design parameter and the second design parameter (Stav: [0101], [0102]).
Regarding Claim 5, Stav further discloses the method of claim 4, wherein the initial value of the first design parameter is determined by an integer multiple of a half wavelength of the 2-way transmission or reception signal propagating inside the radome, and the initial value of the second design parameter is determined by an integer multiple of a half wavelength of the 2-way transmission or reception signal propagating in an air space between the radome and the substrate body (Stav: [0102], [0131], [0133]).
Regarding Claim 6, Stav further discloses the method of claim 5, wherein the first design range for the first design parameter is determined to be 0.69 to 1.06 times a wavelength of the 2-way transmission or reception signal propagating inside the radome, and the second design range for the second design parameter is determined to be 0.89 to 1.15 times a wavelength of the 2- way transmission or reception signal propagating in the air space between the radome and the substrate body (Stav: [0102], [0131], [0133]; Examiner’s Remark(ER): specific numbered ranges are matter of design choice).
Regarding Claim 7, Stav further discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the second determination parameter is a 20dB beam width of the 2-way transmission or reception signal, and the third determination parameter is a root mean square error (RMSE) of signal power at radiation angles of -40 degrees and +40 degrees (Stav: Figures 9-25, [0109]-[0125]; Examiner’s Remark(ER): specific numbered ranges are matter of design choice);
Regarding Claim 8, Stav further discloses the method of claim 7, wherein the first threshold range is 0 to 0.3 dB, the second threshold range is 0 to 0.3 degrees, and the third threshold range is 0 to 0.7 dB (Stav: Figures 9-25, [0109]-[0125]; Examiner’s Remark(ER): specific numbered ranges are matter of design choice).
Regarding Claim 9, Stav further discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising forming a database of the first difference value, the second difference value and the third difference value (Stav: Figures 7-25; [0107]-[0109], [0124]-[0133], [0140]- [0150].
Regarding Claim 10, Stav further discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising generating a first graph, a second graph and a third graph for the first difference value, the second difference value and the third difference value according to change to values of the first design parameter and the second design parameter, respectively (Stav: Figures 7-25; [0107]-[0109], [0124]-[0133], [0140]- [0150].
Regarding Claims 11-22, the claims recite the same substantive limitations as Claims 1-10 and are rejected using the same teachings.
Conclusion
4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim et al. (Patent No.: US 10,777,878 B2) teaches a radome, including a cover part configured to cover a printed circuit board (PCB) on which a plurality of antenna arrays and an integrated circuit (IC) chip connected to the plurality of antenna arrays are formed, and a plurality of projection parts on an inner side of the cover part opposite to the PCB.
Fujita et al. (Pub. No.: US 2015/0123872 A1) teaches An antenna section is housed in a housing space which is defined by a radome and a housing, and provided with a transmitting antenna that transmits radar waves composed of radio waves of a predetermined frequency and a receiving antenna that receives the radar waves.
Hong et al. (Patent No.: US 11,513,185 B2) conceptually presents an electromagnetic-wave-transmissive module of a vehicle radar is provided to minimize a dielectric impact reflection effect, which occurs when an electromagnetic wave radiated from an antenna is transmitted through a radome and a transmissive cover.
Tsuchiya et al. (Patent No.: US 11,114,755 B2) defines an antenna device that includes a substrate at which a transmission antenna and a reception antenna are provided; and a radome provided facing the substrate, the radome includes: a transmission side radome facing the transmission antenna; and a reception side radome facing the reception antenna.
Ryo SAITO (Pub. No.: US 2024/0183940 A1) defines a radar device that includes a radar module and an actuator, which generates vibration with a magnitude smaller than the range resolution of the radar device. A shield case is supported on a bracket with a fixing portion interposed therebetween.
5. Examiner’s Remarks: Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Correspondence Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IFTEKHAR A KHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5699. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9:00AM-6:00PM (CST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Emerson Puente can be reached on (571)272-3652. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/IFTEKHAR A KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2187
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