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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 October 10th 2025 has been entered.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1-5, 8-17 and 20-22 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein each of the filter banks is configured to select one band-pass filter from the first band-pass filters and the second band-pass filters, and to couple the selected band-pass filter between the first I/O terminal and the second I/O terminal” and limitations “the first band-pass filters” and “the second band-pass filters” which render the claim indefinite. There is no filter that is shared between the plurality of first band-pass filters and the plurality of second band-pass filters, so it is unclear as to how one filter can be selected from both. Thus the limitation either means that one filter is selected form the plurality of first filters or the plurality of second filters, or that one filter is being selected from both the plurality of first filters and from the plurality of second filter. Furthermore the claim recites the plurality of first and second filters as the first band-pass filters” and “the second band-pass filters” which is unclear since we don’t know if they mean all of the filters in the plurality or just some amount of filters more than 1. For the purposes of examination, the examiner as best understood, will interpret the claim to mean “wherein each of the filter banks is configured to select one band-pass filter from the plurality of first band-pass filters and select another band-pass filter from the plurality of second band-pass filters, and to couple the selected band-pass filters between the first I/O terminal and the second I/O terminal without passing through the unselected band-pass filters, so as to filter one of the third input signals, wherein the plurality of second band-pass filters are divided into a plurality of groups corresponding to the plurality of first band-pass filters, and the first passband of each of the plurality of first band-pass filters only overlaps with the second passbands of the corresponding group of the second band-pass filters.” to bring the claim more in line with what is taught in the specifications and drawings.
Claims 2-5, 8-17 and 20-22 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 21 and 22 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 21 and 22, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “a first switching unit configured to selectively provide the one of the third input signals from the first I/O terminal to the selected band-pass filter, so as to filter the one of the third input signals; and a second switching unit, configured to selectively couple to the selected band-pass filter”.
Siavash, Kang, and Pehlke are both cited as teaching some elements of the claimed invention including a radio frequency (RF) phased-array detector comprising a vertical antenna array, a horizontal antenna array, a multiplexer module, a processor, a filter module, a plurality of first band-pass filters, a plurality of second band-pass filters, first signals, second signals, third signals, and a first switch. Siavash, Kang, and Pehlke fail to explicitly disclose a first switch that couples third input signals to the selected band-pass filter to filter it and second switch coupled to the selected band-pass filter.
However, 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.
Claim 21 and 22 will also only be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20220311470 A1 (Goto; Rei et al.) discloses an antenna array comprising multiple horizontal and vertical elements connected to switching units.
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/DAMEON E LEVI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/GURBIR SINGH/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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