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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 10/29/2025 has been entered. Claims 18-37 are currently pending. Amendments to the Specification have overcome the objection and 112(a) rejection set forth in the Non-Final Office Action dated 08/01/2025. The amendments to the claims have overcome some of the 112(b) rejections set forth in the Non-Final Office Action, but some rejections are maintained (see below) and new rejections introduced.
Claim Objections
Claims 18-25 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 18 (lines 4-6, 8, 13, 16): “the apparatus” does not have exact antecedent basis and should read “the polarization reconfiguration apparatus”.
Claim 24: “the apparatus” does not have exact antecedent basis and should read “the polarization reconfiguration apparatus”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 19-23 and 25 are objected to due to their dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 18-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claim 18 recites (lines 7-8) “each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each antenna element in the apparatus”, and (lines 11-13) “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each antenna element in the apparatus”. Claim 18 further recites (lines 14-15) “configure a phase for the antenna element in an antenna array based on the eigenvector” and (line 17) “transmit a signal to another device by using the antenna array”. It is not clear how the antenna array relates to the antenna elements of the apparatus. Clarification is required.
For examination purposes, claim 18 is interpreted as the polarization reconfiguration apparatus comprising an antenna array which comprises a plurality of antenna elements.
Claim 18 also recites “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus”. However, it is not clear how the eigenvector can include a phase value of the port, as the eigenvector is calculated from the non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix, the coefficients of which are calculated based on transmit power between the antenna and the another device.
Claim 18 further recites “configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector”. It is not clear if the phase is configured for each antenna element which has been used to find the eigenvector, or if the phase is configured for each antenna element using the phase value which is included in the determined eigenvector. Clarification is therefore required.
The limitations of claim 18 regarding the eigenvectors are interpreted by the Examiner as best understood.
Claim 24 recites “wherein the plurality of antenna subarrays and the apparatus are disposed in a communication device”. However, it is not clear what is being claimed here. Is it a communication device or a polarization reconfiguration apparatus? Clarification is required.
Claims 19-23 and 25 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 18.
Claims 26-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claim 26 recites (lines 8-9) “each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each of a plurality of antenna element in the communication device”, and (lines 13-14) “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device”. Claim 26 further recites (lines 15-) “configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array”. It is not clear how the antenna array relates to the antenna elements of the communication device. Clarification is required.
For examination purposes, claim 26 is interpreted as the communication device comprising an antenna array which comprises a plurality of antenna elements.
Claim 26 also recites (lines 12-14) “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device”. However, it is not clear how the eigenvector can include a phase value of the port, as the eigenvector is calculated from the non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix, the coefficients of which are calculated based on transmit power between the antenna and the another device.
Claim 26 further recites (lines 15-18) “configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to the at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device included in the determined eigenvector”. It is not clear if the phase is configured for the antenna element which has been used to find the eigenvector, or if the phase is configured for the antenna element using the phase value which is included in the determined eigenvector. Clarification is therefore required.
The limitations of claim 26 regarding the eigenvectors are interpreted by the Examiner as best understood, for examination purposes.
Claim 26 further recites (lines 19-21) “wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein, for each antenna subarray…”. However, a subarray has not been defined, so the difference between the subarray and the antenna array comprising m antenna elements (line 19) is not clear. Clarification is required.
For examination purposes, the above limitation is interpreted as “wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna subarrays, wherein each antenna subarray of the plurality of antenna subarrays comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, where m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein for each antenna subarray …” (see claim 19).
Claims 27-29 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 26.
Claims 30-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Independent claim 30 recites (lines 8-9) “each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each of a plurality of antenna elements in the communication device”, and (lines 12-13) “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device”. Claim 30 further recites (lines 15-) “configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array”. It is not clear how the antenna array relates to the antenna elements of the communication device. Clarification is required.
For examination purposes, claim 30 is interpreted as the communication device comprising an antenna array which comprises a plurality of antenna elements.
Claim 30 also recites (lines 12-14) “wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device”. However, it is not clear how the eigenvector can include a phase value of the port, as the eigenvector is calculated from the non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix, the coefficients of which are calculated based on transmit power between the antenna and the another device.
Claim 30 further recites (lines 15-18) “configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to the at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device included in the determined eigenvector”. It is not clear if the phase is configured for the antenna element which has been used to find the eigenvector, or if the phase is configured for the antenna element using the phase value which is included in the determined eigenvector. Clarification is therefore required.
The limitations of claim 30 regarding the eigenvectors are interpreted by the Examiner as best understood.
For examination purposes, the above limitation is interpreted as “wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna subarrays, wherein each antenna subarray of the plurality of antenna subarrays comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, where m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein for each antenna subarray …” (see claim 19).
Claims 31-37 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 26.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-37 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 26, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of a polarization reconfiguration apparatus having memory storage instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine an eigenvector, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; and configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector.
Wen (NPL “Optimal Design of Antenna Arrays”, pub. 2014) is cited as teaching some of the elements of the claimed invention (see fig. 1 below), including “determine a transmission matrix between the apparatus (array to be designed) and another device (test array) based on transmit power between the apparatus and the another device (see Section II),
wherein the transmission matrix comprises a plurality of transmission coefficients, and each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each antenna element in the apparatus;
PNG
media_image1.png
131
413
media_image1.png
Greyscale
determine a maximum value in a plurality of non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix;
PNG
media_image2.png
89
398
media_image2.png
Greyscale
determine an eigenvector corresponding to the maximum value”.
However, Wen does not teach, or suggest a polarization reconfiguration apparatus, including memory storage instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: determine an eigenvector, where the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; and configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector.
PNG
media_image3.png
367
377
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Foo (US 2016/0352012) is cited as teaching some of the elements of the claimed invention, including an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor (¶85, “it is understood that the wireless communication system, including access point/base station, core network computing hardware, MIMO antenna control hardware, wireless terminals, and the like, will collectively include a set of elements such as microprocessors, memory elements for storing program instructions and other information”); and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (¶85), cause the apparatus to:
determine a transmission matrix between the apparatus and another device based on transmit power between the apparatus and the another device (¶51, “for a Mu-MIMO system with p array antenna ports and n terminal ports, the p by n channel matrix Hpn is a complex-valued matrix satisfying the equation y=Hpn x+z, where x is the transmit vector, y is the receive vector, and z is noise. Thus, the entries hij of the channel matrix reflect the magnitude and phase relationship between elements of the transmit and receive vectors”), wherein the transmission matrix comprises a plurality of transmission coefficients (hij ), and each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each antenna element in the apparatus (¶51, “system with p array antenna ports and n terminal ports, the p by n channel matrix”);
determine an eigenvector (¶44, “derived from a corresponding eigenvector of a system matrix HkHk H, the system matrix being derived from the channel matrix Hk “; ¶51, “the entries hij of the channel matrix reflect the magnitude and phase relationship between elements of the transmit and receive vectors”); and
and a transceiver, configured to:
transmit a signal to the another device by using the phased antenna array (¶53, “a transceiver module may be configured to perform matrix operations in order to transmit data by the antenna array. Signals containing data for transmission may be routed to various desired array elements with desired amplitude and phase adjustments in order to allocate different signals to the desired beams. For reception, signals received from the various array elements may be similarly combined with amplitude and phase adjustments made in order to reconstruct the signals from various terminals and corresponding to various beams”)”.
Foo does not teach, or suggest, a polarization reconfiguration apparatus, including memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine a maximum value in a plurality of non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix; and determine an eigenvector corresponding to the maximum value, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; and configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector.
Nakaya et al. (US 2005/0020310) is cited as teaching (see fig. 8) some of the elements of the claimed invention, including an apparatus comprising: at least one processor (¶68, signal processing under control of a controller); and memory storing instructions (inherent in a MIMO wireless communication system) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine a transmission matrix (¶4, channel matrix H) between the apparatus and another device (¶22, “plurality of antenna units that transmit or receive radio frequency signals”, 802 & 804) based on transmit power between the apparatus and the another device (¶4, “ρ represents the transmission power”) wherein the transmission matrix comprises a plurality of transmission coefficients (¶4, “the channel matrix H is a matrix having N rows and M columns (N by M)”), and each transmission coefficient is associated with a port corresponding to each antenna element in the apparatus (¶3, M antennas at the transmission end and N antennas at the reception end);
and configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus (¶77-¶80, “adaptive array antenna of the phased array type, phases can be arbitrarily adjusted by the RF weight controlling circuit units 1104”, “polarized wave sharing antennas are employed as antenna elements”, “The radio frequency weighting circuit units 1104 adjust the phase of each signal”, “This radio frequency weight controlling unit 1108 may be provided in the weight controlling units 810 and 816 ” ); and
a transceiver (inherent in a MIMO antenna system), configured to: transmit a signal to the another device by using the antenna array (see fig. 8).
Nakaya does not teach, or suggest, causing the apparatus to: determine a maximum value in a plurality of non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix;
determine an eigenvector corresponding to the maximum value, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; configure a phase based on using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector.
The prior art, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Claims 19-25 are dependent on claim 18 and included in the allowable subject matter.
Regarding independent claim 26, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of a communication device having memory storage instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to: determine an eigenvector, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device; and configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to the at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device included in the determined eigenvector.
Wen discloses some elements of claim 26 (see above), including a communication device (antenna array), and wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (see fig. 6 below) and wherein, for each antenna subarray, the m antenna elements of the antenna subarray are placed at an interval of 360/m degrees in sequence (fig. 6 shows 4 subarrays having 4 antenna elements, and the 4 antenna elements are placed at an interval of 90 degrees in sequence).
PNG
media_image4.png
164
169
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Fig. 6
However, Wen does not teach, or suggest a communication device including memory storage instructions that, when executed, cause the device to: determine an eigenvector, where the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to at least one of the antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements of the device; and configure a phase for at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to the at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device included in the determined eigenvector.
Foo teaches some elements of claim 26 (see above), but Foo does not teach, or suggest, a polarization reconfiguration apparatus, including memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine a maximum value in a plurality of non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix; and determine an eigenvector corresponding to the maximum value, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; and configure a phase for each of the antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector; wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein, for each antenna subarray, the m antenna elements of the antenna subarray are placed at an interval of 360/m degrees in sequence, and a distance between any two adjacent antenna elements of the m antenna elements is less than 0.5 times an operating wavelength.
Nakaya teaches some elements of claim 26 (see above). However, Nakaya does not teach, or suggest, causing the apparatus to: determine a maximum value in a plurality of non-zero eigenvalues of the transmission matrix; determine an eigenvector corresponding to the maximum value, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus; configure a phase based on using the phase value of the port corresponding to each of the antenna elements in the apparatus included in the determined eigenvector; wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein, for each antenna subarray, the m antenna elements of the antenna subarray are placed at an interval of 360/m degrees in sequence, and a distance between any two adjacent antenna elements of the m antenna elements is less than 0.5 times an operating wavelength.
The prior art, when taken alone, or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Claims 27-29 are dependent on claim 26 and included in the allowable subject matter.
Regarding independent claim 30, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of a communication device having memory storage instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to: determine an eigenvector, wherein the eigenvector includes a phase value of the port corresponding to each of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device; and configure a phase for at least one antenna element in the plurality of antenna elements in an antenna array using the phase value of the port corresponding to the at least one antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements in the communication device included in the determined eigenvector.
Wen discloses some elements of claim 30 (see above), including a communication device (antenna array), and wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (see fig. 6) and wherein, the antenna array comprises a plurality of subarrays, and wherein a difference of distances between any two adjacent subarrays of a plurality of antenna subarrays is less than or equal to a first preset value (fig. 6 shows 4 subarrays having 4 antenna elements, and the 4 antenna elements are placed at an interval of 90 degrees in sequence, and there are distances between any two adjacent subarrays. The placement of the antenna subarrays is less than a certain value which has been preset by the antenna designer).
Foo discloses some elements of claim 30 (see above). However, Foo does not teach, or suggest, wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna subarrays, and wherein a difference of distances between any two adjacent antenna subarrays of a plurality of antenna subarrays is less than or equal to a first preset value.
Nakaya teaches some elements of claim 30 (see above). However, Nakaya does not teach, or suggest, wherein the antenna array comprises m antenna elements from the plurality of antenna elements, wherein m is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna subarrays, and wherein a difference of distances between any two adjacent antenna subarrays of a plurality of antenna subarrays is less than or equal to a first preset value.
Claims 31-37 are dependent on claim 30 and included in the allowable subject matter.
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 ANNA N HAMADYK whose telephone number is (703)756-1672. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 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, Dimary Lopez can be reached at (571) 270-7893. 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.
/ANNA N HAMADYK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845