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
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2-9, 11, 13-16, 18-20 is/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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to the claim(s), the prior art of record fails to disclose singly or in combination or render obvious all the limitations of the claim(s).
The closest prior art relating to Applicant' s claimed invention is:
US 20130122824 A1 Schell; Stephan V.
US 20020098613 A1 Loo, Robert Y. et al.
Schell discloses that electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communication circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches that receive radio-frequency antenna signals from antennas. The wireless communications circuitry may include switching circuitry interposed between the MEMS switches and the antennas. The switching circuitry may protect the MEMS switches from radio-frequency signals that are received by the antennas by temporarily isolating the MEMS switches from the radio-frequency signals during MEMS switch configuration processes. The switching circuitry may include a crossbar switch formed from solid state circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include control circuitry that controls the MEMS switches and the switching circuitry. The control circuitry may direct the switching circuitry to temporarily disconnect a selected MEMS switch from the antennas and direct the selected MEMS switch to switch from a first configuration to a second configuration while the MEMS switch is disconnected from the antennas.
Loo discloses apparatus for a micro-electro-mechanical switch that provides single pole, double throw switching action. The switch comprises a single RF input line and two RF output lines. The switch additionally comprises two armatures, each mechanically connected to a substrate at one end and having a conducting transmission line at the other end with a suspended biasing electrode located on top of or within a structural layer of the armature. Each conducting transmission line has conducting dimples that protrude beyond the bottom of the armature carrying the conducting transmission line. Closure of an armature causes the dimples of the corresponding conducting transmission line to mechanically and electrically engage the RF input line and the corresponding RF output line, thus directing RF energy from the RF input line to the selected RF output line.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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.
Claim(s) 1, 10, 12, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20130122824 A1 to Schell; Stephan V. in view of US 20020098613 A1 Loo, Robert Y. et al.
Re: Claim(s) 1, 12, 17
Schell discloses a circuitry (Fig. 4),
comprising: a first antenna connection line connected to a first antenna and one of a first radio frequency (RF) cable and a second RF cable (Fig. 4 - 40A is connected to either of 82 and 84 via switch 80);
a second antenna connection line connected to a second antenna and the other of the first RF cable and the second RF cable (Fig. 4 – 40B is connected to either of 82 and 84 via switch 80);
a C (i.e. first input pole) and throws TA (i.e. first throw) and TB (i.e. second throw)),
wherein the first input pole is configured to be connected to the first throw upon determining that the first antenna connection line is connected to the first RF cable, and configured to be connected to the second throw upon determining that the first antenna connection line is connected to the second RF cable (Figs. 5A and 5B – 40A is connected to 82 via pole TC and throw TA in a normal state and is alternatively connected to 84 via pole TC and throw TB in a swapped state);
and a D (i.e. first input pole) and throws TA (i.e. third throw) and TB (i.e. fourth throw). The Examiner notes that per the claim language, there is no distinction being made that the first and third throws are different and likewise in the case of the second and fourth throws),
wherein the second input pole is configured to be connected to the third throw upon determining that the second antenna connection line is connected to the second RF cable, and configured to be connected to the fourth throw upon determining that the second antenna connection line is connected to the first RF cable (Figs. 5A and 5B – 40B is connected to 84 via pole TD and throw TB in a normal state and is alternatively connected to 82 via pole TD and throw TA in a swapped state);.
Schell does/do not appear to explicitly disclose a combination of two SPDT switches perform a swapping function between two antennae and two RF cables. Rather, Schell appears to disclose a single double pole double throw switch.
However, attention is directed to Loo which discloses said limitation (0008 - RF signals often must be switched between two destinations, such as when switching an RF signal between a first antenna array and a second antenna array. Switches that support this configuration are classified as single pole, double throw (SPDT) switches.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Schell invention by employing the teaching as taught by Loo to provide the ability to utilize SPDT switches when switching an RF signal between multiple different antennae. When taken in combination with Schell, since two antenna are being switched between two RF signals (i.e. cables or paths), two distinct SPDT switches would be required to facilitate the swapping function as disclosed by Schell. The Examiner notes that in such a configuration, the claimed first through fourth throws would all be distinct. Both Schell and Loo relate to RF path switching using MEMs switches, therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art, upon viewing Schell, would look at other solutions known within the art to implement such switching and would thus discover an alternative solution in Loo. The motivation for the combination is found in Loo (0010).
Schell further discloses:
antenna circuitry (Fig. 4), as required by claim 12; and
a system comprising an antenna module (Figs. 2-4), as required by claim 17.
Re: Claim(s) 10
Schell in view of Loo discloses those limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim(s) 1 above.
Schell further discloses wherein the first SPDT switch and the second SPDT switch are provided on a same chip (0039 - Wireless communication circuitry 34 may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits (i.e. in the case of one integrated circuit, this would be analogous to a single chip).
Conclusion
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/KASHIF SIDDIQUI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415