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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 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.
Claims 1-2, 5-7, 13, 16, 18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Cheng et al. (CN 209896219U cited by applicant).
Cheng (e.g. Figs. 1-5) teaches an RF device including:
Regarding Claim 1, an RF filter (e.g. the device of Figs. 1-5) comprising a resonator (e.g. the resonators labeled 9 in Fig. 2 which are also in Figs. 3-5 but not labeled); an RF connector (e.g. 5, 14-16) that is coupled to the resonator; and a printed circuit board (PCB) (e.g. 18 is an antenna coupling plate,/PCB, see [0014] and [0035]) that covers the resonator and is coupled to the resonator via the RF connector (e.g. see [0032], the spring/pogo connector 5, 14-16 is connected between the resonator plate and the antenna board/plate 18, note that the element number for the antenna coupling plate/board is mislabeled as 17 in the translation section [0032], see [0029] for the proper labeling) .
Regarding Claim 2, wherein the RF connector comprises a pogo pin connector (e.g. 16, see [0032]).
Regarding Claim 5, further comprising a metal cover (e.g. lower cover plate 13 that is capable of being soldered thus implying metal, see [0040]) that is between the PCB and the resonator, wherein the RF connector extends through an opening in the metal cover (e.g. see Fig. 5, the connector extends through and opening in 13, and 13 is between 18 and the resonator plate).
Regarding Claim 6, further comprising a conductive ring that is between the metal cover and the PCB, wherein the RF connector extends through the conductive ring (e.g. flange plate [0021], and [0032]).
Regarding Claim 7, further comprises a conductive housing having walls (e.g. 10) that extend around the resonator (e.g. the resonator sheet plate and cavity can be integrally molded, [0034])) and wherein the PCB is not soldered to the conductive housing (e.g. see Fig. 5, shows screw mounting at the periphery).
Regarding claim 13, the RF filter further comprises a conductive housing having walls (e.g. 10) that extend around the resonator, wherein the RF connector is a first RF connector that is at least partially inside the conductive housing, wherein the RF device further comprises a second RF connector (e.g. see Fig. 5, there are two connectors) that is at least partially inside the conductive housing, and wherein the resonator is coupled between the first and second RF connectors (e.g. the two connectors connect to the respective ends of the resonator plate).
Regarding Claim 16, an RF filter (e.g. the device of Figs. 3-5) comprising a plurality of resonators (e.g. the resonators labeled 9 in Fig. 2 which are also in Figs. 3-5 but not labeled); a metal cover (e.g. lower cover plate 13) that covers the resonators; a printed circuit board (PCB) (e.g. 18) that covers the metal cover; a conductive material (e.g. flange plate [0021], and [0032]) that is between the metal cover and the PCB; and a conductive pin (e.g. 5, 14-16) that extends through the metal cover and the conductive material and couples the resonators and the PCB to each other (e.g. see [0032], the spring/pogo connector 5, 14-16 is connected between the resonator plate and the antenna board/plate 18, note that the element number for the antenna coupling plate/board is mislabeled as 17 in the translation section [0032], see [0029] for the proper labeling) .
Regarding Claim 18, wherein the RF filter further comprises a conductive housing (e.g. 10) having walls that extend around the resonators, and wherein the PCB is not soldered to the conductive housing (e.g. see Fig. 5, shows screw mounting at the periphery).
Regarding Claim 20, an RF filter (e.g. the device of Figs. 3-5) comprising a plurality of resonators (e.g. the resonators labeled 9 in Fig. 2 which are also in Figs. 3-5 but not labeled); a printed circuit board (PCB) feed board (e.g. 18 feeds an antenna) that covers the resonators; and a pogo pin connector that couples the resonators and the PCB feed board to each other (e.g. see [0032], the spring/pogo connector 5, 14-16 is connected between the resonator plate and the antenna board/plate 18, note that the element number for the antenna coupling plate/board is mislabeled as 17 in the translation section [0032], see [0029] for the proper labeling) .
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (CN 209896219U cited by applicant) in view of Tanabe et al. (US 2007/0107214 cited by applicant).
Cheng teaches an RF device as described above including that, in Figs. 1-2, the pin (6) can be welded to the resonator plate (9) and the antenna coupling plate/PCB (18) (e.g. see [0008], note the PCB is not shown in Figs. 1-2).
However, Cheng does not appear to explicitly disclose that in Figs. 1-2 the PCB would comprise a plated through hole and the pin of the connector is coupled to the plated hole (Claim 3), or that the pin is soldered to the bottom surface of the PCB in the plated hole (Claim 4).
Tanabe (e.g. Fig. 3), provides the general teaching that a connector to a PCB plated through hole can be soldered at the bottom.
It would have been considered routine and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have provided plated through hole in the Cheng Figs 1-2 device PCB and soldered the connector at the bottom of the hole such as taught by Tanabe, because it would have been a mere selection of an art-recognized equivalent/alternative structure for providing the benefit of a reliable permanent electrical connection between a PCB and a connector pin.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12, 14-15, 17, and 19 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN E JONES whose telephone number is (571)272-1762. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM to 5PM.
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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.
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/Stephen E. Jones/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843