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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 29, 2026 has been entered.
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, 7, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iellici (U.S. Patent No. 10,305,182) in view of Eslami (U.S. Publication No. 2021/0036424).
Claim 1: Iellici, in figures 24 and 25 discloses a switchable antenna assembly (240), the switchable antenna assembly comprising: a substrate (PCB, col. 9, lns. 17-30); a ground plane disposed on the substrate; a feed (26); a first planar antenna element (A) extending from the ground plane in a first direction, wherein the first planar antenna element is coupled to the feed by a first transmission line, wherein the first planar antenna element is configured to produce a first radiation pattern (330A, fig. 33); a second planar antenna (B) element extending from the ground plane in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction of first planar antenna element, wherein the second planar antenna element is configured to produce a second radiation pattern (330B, fig. 33); and a single pole—two-throw switching element (RF switch, col. 9, lns. 17-30) configured to selectively couple one of the first transmission line or the second transmission line to the feed; wherein the two-throw switching element is posited atop the first and second transmission lines (figs. 24 and 25).
Iellici fails to disclose a switchable antenna assembly further comprising a data over coaxial circuit configured to concurrently carry a radio frequency signal and a control signal; a radio frequency circuit configured to demodulate the control signal from the radio frequency signal; controlling the switching element based at least in part on the demodulated control signal. However, Eslami, in fig. 2, discloses the technique of using a data over coaxial circuit (114) configured to concurrently carry a radio frequency signal and a control signal; a radio frequency circuit (112) configured to demodulate the control signal from the radio frequency signal.
The courts have held that the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is considered obvious. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have substituted the control signal technique used in the invention of Iellici with the technique taught by Eslami, in order to have provided the predictable result of controlling the switching element.
The modified invention of Iellici in view of Eslami would have yielded controlling the switching element based at least in part on the demodulated control signal.
Claim 2: Iellici discloses wherein the first planar antenna element and the second planar antenna element are configured to produce a signal between about 5 GHz and about 7.2 GHz (col. 7, lns. 48-51).
Claim 3: The modified invention of Iellici in view of Eslami discloses wherein the two-throw switching element is controlled via a control circuit (118, fig. 2, Eslami).
Claim 7: The modified invention of Iellici in view of Eslami discloses wherein the radio frequency signal is defined within a first frequency band, and the control signal is defined within a second frequency band that is distinct from the first frequency band (¶[0051], Eslami).
Claim 9: Iellici discloses wherein the first radiation pattern is associated with a first polarization, the second radiation pattern is associated with a second polarization, the first polarization being different from the second polarization (fig. 33).
Claim 10: Iellici discloses wherein the first planar antenna element defines a first shape, and wherein the second planar antenna element defines a second shape identical to the first shape (fig. 25).
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 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iellici (U.S. Patent No. 10,305,182) in view Eslami (U.S. Publication No. 2021/0036424), and further in view of ZARIC (U.S. Publication No. 2019/0044231).
Claims 11 and 12: Iellici fails to disclose wherein the first shape of the first planar antenna element comprises: a straight first edge; a straight second edge parallel to the first edge; a straight third edge, wherein a first endpoint of the third edge contacts a first endpoint of the first edge and a second endpoint of the third edge contacts a first endpoint of the second edge; and a curved fourth edge, wherein a first endpoint of the fourth edge contacts a second endpoint of the first edge and a second endpoint of the fourth edge contacts a second endpoint of the second edge; and wherein the switchable antenna assembly is configured for 6e Wifi signaling. ZARIC discloses an UWB antenna capable of operating at 6E Wifi signaling (para. [0003]); and comprising a planar antenna element shape that comprises: a straight first edge; a straight second edge parallel to the first edge; a straight third edge, wherein a first endpoint of the third edge contacts a first endpoint of the first edge and a second endpoint of the third edge contacts a first endpoint of the second edge; and a curved fourth edge, wherein a first endpoint of the fourth edge contacts a second endpoint of the first edge and a second endpoint of the fourth edge contacts a second endpoint of the second edge (fig. 3E). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the invention of Iellici, and replaced the antennas of Iellici with the UWB antennas disclosed by ZARIC. Doing so would have enabled the device with ultrawideband wireless communication.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3, 7 and 9-12 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 for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/Robert Karacsony/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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