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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-8, filed 1/5/2026, with respect to claims 1 and 27 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4-8, 11-12, and 27-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemes (US 20160218429 A1) in view of Crane (US 4731614 A),
Regarding claim 1, Klemes discloses:
a power efficient phased array antenna system comprising (Klemes, Abstract, Phase control apparatus and methods for antenna arrays are disclosed. Phase shifts at respective antenna element subunits along a first axis of an antenna array are controlled by applying a variable control voltage across a voltage divider to divide the variable control voltage into multiple voltages that are used to generate phase shift control voltages for phase shift elements corresponding to the respective antenna element subunits. The antenna array may be steered along the first axis by controlling the variable control voltage applied across the voltage divider. A second voltage divider could be used to extend phase control and steering to two dimensions) Examiner interprets voltage control as power efficiency:
a multilayered phased array antenna system (Klemes, para [0012], [0012] An apparatus could also include an antenna array with antenna element subunits distributed in a planar array in a plane defined by a first axis and a second axis.
[0013] In some embodiments, the antenna element subunits are arranged in the planar array in a grid pattern in columns along the first axis of the antenna array and in rows along the second axis of the antenna array);
a plurality of antennas arranged into an array of rows and columns (Klemes, paras [0012-0013]);
a plurality of unit cell chips, each of said unit cell chips is associated with each of said antennas (Klemes, para [0051], Just as the exact structure of physical interfaces at network equipment 110, 112, 114 and network equipment in the core network 104 is implementation-dependent, the associated communications circuitry is implementation-dependent as well. In general, hardware, firmware, components which execute software, or some combination thereof, might be used in implementing such communications circuitry. Electronic devices that might be suitable for implementing communications circuitry include, among others, microprocessors, microcontrollers, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and other types of “intelligent” integrated circuits. Software could be stored in memory for execution. The memory could include one or more physical memory devices, including any of various types of solid-state memory devices and/or memory devices with movable or even removable storage media) Examiner interprets the application specific integrated circuits within the antenna associated with each antenna element as a unit cell chips;
a plurality of row network operators, each of which is associated with arow of said antennas (Klemes, para [0084, lines 15-27], Steering the planar antenna array 500 in this manner electronically tilts the plane 502 of the antenna array at an angle θ relative to the first direction x of the antenna array and at an angle φ relative to the second direction y of the antenna array, as shown in FIG. 5. Both angles are measured vertically from the plane of the array. More conventional steering angles, specifically azimuth (measured clockwise from the x- or y-axis in the plane of the array) and elevation (measured from the axis of the array perpendicular to it, toward the plane of the array) could also be used, with the net result that the control voltages applied to the voltage divider would become functions of both azimuth and elevation angles) and (further reference para [0182]) Examiner identifies azimuth as the row operator;
a plurality of column network operators, each of which is associated with a column of said antennas (Klemes, para [0084, lines 15-27],)and (further reference para [0182]) Examiner identifies elevation as the column operator;
wherein in a transmit or a receive mode each of said row network operators is configured to provide a row operator generated intermediate frequency signal to one corresponding antenna in a corresponding row of said antennas (Klemes, para [0182]);
wherein in said transmit or said receive mode each of said column network operators is configured to provide a column operator generated local oscillator signal to one corresponding antenna in a corresponding column of said antennas (Klemes, para [0182]);
wherein in a receive mode, each of said row network operators is configured to receive a converted intermediate frequency signal from a corresponding antenna in a corresponding row of said antennas (Klemes, para [0182] FIGS. 2 to 14 present illustrative examples. Other embodiments could include variations from these examples. For instance, phase controllers need not necessarily be coupled to an antenna array directly. There could be intervening components. With reference to FIG. 2, for example, the transmitter 210 could include one or more up-converters to convert signals from baseband to Intermediate Frequency (IF) and from IF to Radio Frequency (RF) for transmission. Phase shifts could be applied to IF signals in IF circuitry, further “back” in a transmit path than shown in FIG. 2 and within the transmitter 210. Another possible option would be to apply phase shifts to a signal in a Local Oscillator (LO) path that drives up-converter mixers. Shifting the phase of signals that drive such mixers affects the phase of the resultant mixed IF or RF signals. In a receive path, phase shifting could similarly be applied to IF signals in IF receive circuitry further along in the receive path than shown in FIG. 2, or to signals in an LO path that drives down-converter mixers. FIG. 10 is an illustrative example of how this may be implemented in one embodiment);
wherein in said receive mode, each of said unit cell chips are configured to utilize (Klemes, para [0051]):
a row operator delayed intermediate frequency signal from one of said corresponding row network operators (Klemes, para [0084, lines 15-27])) and (further reference para [0182]) Examiner identifies azimuth as the row operator,;
said column operator generated local oscillator signal from said corresponding column network operator (Klemes, para [0084, lines 15-27]) and (further reference para [0182]) Examiner identifies elevation as the column operator;
and a received radio frequency signal received from said associated antenna to create a converted intermediate frequency signal (Klemes para [0182], FIGS. 2 to 14 present illustrative examples. Other embodiments could include variations from these examples. For instance, phase controllers need not necessarily be coupled to an antenna array directly. There could be intervening components. With reference to FIG. 2, for example, the transmitter 210 could include one or more up-converters to convert signals from baseband to Intermediate Frequency (IF) and from IF to Radio Frequency (RF) for transmission. Phase shifts could be applied to IF signals in IF circuitry, further “back” in a transmit path than shown in FIG. 2 and within the transmitter 210. Another possible option would be to apply phase shifts to a signal in a Local Oscillator (LO) path that drives up-converter mixers. Shifting the phase of signals that drive such mixers affects the phase of the resultant mixed IF or RF signals. In a receive path, phase shifting could similarly be applied to IF signals in IF receive circuitry further along in the receive path than shown in FIG. 2, or to signals in an LO path that drives down-converter mixers. FIG. 10 is an illustrative example of how this may be implemented in one embodiment).
Crane discloses:
wherein in said transmit mode, each of said unit cell chips are configured to generate a radio frequency signal by mixing said row operator generated intermediate frequency signal from said corresponding row network operator and said column operator generated local oscillator signal from said corresponding column network operator so that beamsteering of the MxN array is achieved by only M+N phase controls corresponding to the rows and columns to create said radio frequency signal to be transmitted from said antenna (Crane, Abstract In an electronically scanned phased array capable of operating at millimeter wavelength frequencies, phase control is implemented through the superposition of orthogonal phase functions via a distributed mixing process at IF frequencies. When the elements of the array are replaced by mixers, and the distribution network operated at LO and IF frequencies, the number of phase shifters required is reduced from M.times.N to M+N and lower frequency technology is used)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Klemes with Crane to incorporate the features of: wherein in said transmit mode, each of said unit cell chips are configured to generate a radio frequency signal by mixing said row operator generated intermediate frequency signal from said corresponding row network operator and said column operator generated local oscillator signal from said corresponding column network operator so that beamsteering of the MxN array is achieved by only M+N phase controls corresponding to the rows and columns to create said radio frequency signal to be transmitted from said antenna. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency. The modification would render the predictable results of improved power-efficient beam steering, improved thermal management, and faster calibration
Regarding claim 4, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a heat dissipator (Klemes, para [0103], The phase shift elements could use different calibration and offset factors for each input voltage V.sub.m and V.sub.n. In some embodiments, the phase shift drivers may include an ADC (analog to digital converter), a latch, a DAC (digital to analog converter), a voltage-booster module, a temperature compensation module, a bias module, and/or any suitable combination thereof, which could be configured with calibration data) Examiner interprets temperature compensation module as heat dissipator
Regarding claim 5, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 4 wherein said heat dissipator is configured to transfer heat created in said multilayered phased array antenna system out of said bottom layer of said multilayered phased array antenna system (Klemes, para [0103], The phase shift elements could use different calibration and offset factors for each input voltage V.sub.m and V.sub.n. In some embodiments, the phase shift drivers may include an ADC (analog to digital converter), a latch, a DAC (digital to analog converter), a voltage-booster module, a temperature compensation module, a bias module, and/or any suitable combination thereof, which could be configured with calibration data) temperature compensation module as heat dissipator
Regarding claim 6, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein said plurality of unit cell chips each comprise a mixer to generate said radio frequency signal by multiplying said row operator generated intermediate frequency signal with said column operator generated local oscillator signal (Kleme, para [0182]).
Regarding claim 7, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein said row network operators and said column network operators comprise a plurality of ports configured to transmit or receive intermediate frequency signals (Klemes, Abstract and para [0048], At least the network equipment 114 that provides communication service to the user equipment 122, 124 includes a physical interface and communications circuitry to support access-side communications with the user equipment over the access links 138, 139. The access-side physical interface could be in the form of an antenna or an antenna array, for example, where the access communication links 138, 139 are wireless links. In the case of wired access communication links 138, 139, an access-side physical interface could be a port or a connector to a wired communication medium. Multiple access-side interfaces could be provided at the network equipment 114 to support multiple access communication links 138, 139 of the same type or different types, for instance. The type of communications circuitry coupled to the access-side physical interface(s) at the access network equipment 114 is dependent upon the type(s) of access communication links 138, 139 and the communication protocol(s) used to communicate with the user equipment 122, 124) and (para [0182])Examiner interprets the access interface of the antenna array as the ports configured to transmit signals.
Regarding claim 8, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein said row network operators and said column network operators comprise phase shifting capabilities (Klemes, para [0104], From equation (12) above, it can be seen that a beam of the planar antenna array is steerable to a steering angle θ relative to the first direction x and a steering angle φ relative to the second direction y by controlling the variable control voltage V.sub.x to be proportional to the sine of the steering angle θ and controlling the variable control voltage V.sub.y to be proportional to the sine of the steering angle φ. The phase shift control voltage could be set for all M×N antenna element subunits by simply adjusting the 2 control voltages V.sub.x and V.sub.y).
Regarding claim 11, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of amplifiers, each of which is associated with each of said antennas (Klemes, paras [0108-0117]).
Regarding claim 12, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a single switch configured to switch said array of said antennas between said transmit mode and said receive mode (Klemes, para [0059], The beamformer 206 could be implemented in hardware, firmware, one or more components that execute software, or some combination thereof. The transmitter 210 and the receiver 212 could be implemented in hardware, firmware, one or more components that execute software, or some combination thereof. Communication equipment need not necessarily support both transmit and receive functions, and therefore in some embodiments only a transmitter 210 or only a receiver 212 might be provided) Examiner interprets the hardware, software or combination thereof as the switch to execute transmission and reception functions.
Regarding claim 13, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein said plurality of unit cell chips comprises radio-frequency integrated circuitry (Klemes, para [0182]).
Claim 27 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 1.
Regarding claim 28, Klemes discloses:
the efficient phased array antenna system as described in claim 27 wherein said multi-unit cell chip is associated with a number of antennas chosen from at least eight antennas, at least sixteen antennas, and at least thirty two antennas (Klemes, Abstract and para [0051]) Examiner notes multiple antennas may include least eight, sixteen or thirty-two.
Regarding claim 29, Klemes discloses:
the efficient phased array antenna system as described in claim 27 and further comprising two column operator generated local oscillator signals and two converted intermediate frequency signals (Klemes, para [0182]).
Claim 30 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 3.
Regarding claim 31, Klemes discloses:
The efficient phased array antenna system as described in claim 29 and further comprising a two by two block circuitry in said multi-unit cell chip (Klemes, para [0051]) Examiner notes multiples Application Specific Integrated Circuits indicating more than one.
Regarding claim 32, Klemes discloses:
the efficient phased array antenna system as described in claim 29 and further comprising a frequency multiplier in said multi-unit cell chip (Klemes, para [0138], The down-converter shown in FIG. 10 includes a multiplier 1014, (mixer) the PLL 1000, and may include a frequency multiplier 1016, an LO drive multiplier 1012, and a frequency-divider 1010. The phase shift element's input voltages would again be summed in an adder such as voltage summing circuit 700, whose output would then be applied to the input of a scaler 1018 and added into the PLL by adder 1002).
Regarding claim 33, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips does not have a phase shifter (Klemes, para [0076], Strictly speaking, the above is true only for narrow-band signals, whose bandwidth is small (˜10% or less) relative to the reciprocal of the transit time of the wave across the span of the antenna array. True time-delays may be used in case of broad-band signals, so the time-delays would be proportional to the control voltages generated by the same voltage divider based arrangements described herein) .
Regarding claim 34, Klemes discloses:
an efficient phased array antenna system as described in claim 27 wherein said multi- unit cell chip does not have a phase shifter (Klemes, para [0076]).
Claims 2-3 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemes (US 20160218429 A1) in view of Crane (US 4731614 A) in further view of Moeller (US 9385770 B2)
Regarding claim 2, Klemes discloses:
a mixer (Klemes, para [0182]),
at least one transmit/receive switch (Klemes, para [0055], FIG. 2 is a block diagram of example communication equipment 200, which includes an antenna array 202. Phase controllers 204 are coupled to the antenna array 202 in the example shown, and a beamformer or feed network 206 is coupled to the phase controllers. A transmitter 210 and a receiver 212, which could be part of a transceiver 214, are coupled to the beamformer 206. The transmitter 210 and the receiver 212 could also be coupled to other components, such as other signal processing components which further process received signals or perform processing to generate signals for transmission on a wireless communication link through the antenna array 202, one or more input/output devices, and/or one or more memory devices.),
a local oscillator (Klemes, para [0182]),
an amplifier (Klemes, para [0108], The example voltage summing circuit 700 has a first input that is coupled to an input of a first LPF (low pass filter) 702. The first LPF 702 has an output that is coupled to a positive input of a first operational amplifier 706. The voltage summing circuit 700 has a second input that is coupled to an input of a second LPF 704. The second LPF 704 has an output that is coupled to a positive input of a second operational amplifier 708) and (further reference para [0109-0117] regarding amplifiers),
and any combination or permutation thereof (Klemes, para [0182]).
Crane discloses:
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Klemes with Crane to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips comprises at least one bandpass filter. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail discloses: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips comprises at least one bandpass filter.
Moeller discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips comprises at least one bandpass filter, (Moeller, Fig 1A, band-pass filter 130)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Klemes and Crane with Moeller to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips comprises at least one bandpass filter. The arts disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail discloses: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of unit cell chips comprises at least one bandpass filter. The modification would render the predictable results of improved interference management from adjacent bands, improved reduction of RF leakage and spurious emissions and harmonics.
Regarding claim 3, Klemes discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 wherein in said receive mode (Klemes, paras [0109-0117]),
said received radio frequency signal is processed through a receiver amplifier,
then a mixer (Klemes, para [0182]),
Crane discloses:
The combination of Klemes and Crane fails to discloses: then a bandpass filter as disclosed by Moeller.
Moeller discloses:
Then a bandpass filter (Moeller US 9385770 B2, Fig 1A, band-pass filter 130)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Klemes and Crane with Moeller to incorporate the features of: Then a bandpass filter. The arts disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail discloses: Then a bandpass filter. The modification would render the predictable results of improved interference management from adjacent bands, improved reduction of RF leakage and spurious emissions and harmonics.
Regarding claim 9, Klemes discloses:
Crane discloses:
The combination of Klemes and Crane fails to disclose: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of bandpass filters, each of which is associated with each of said antennas.
Moeller discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of bandpass filters, (Moeller US 9385770 B2, Fig 1A, band-pass filter 130)
each of which is associated with each of said antennas (Moeller US 9385770 B2, Fig 1A, band-pass filter 130)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Klemes and Crane with Moeller to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of bandpass filters, each of which is associated with each of said antennas . The arts disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail discloses: the phased array antenna as described in claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of bandpass filters, each of which is associated with each of said antennas. The modification would render the predictable results of improved interference management from adjacent bands, improved reduction of RF leakage and spurious emissions and harmonics.
Regarding claim 10, Klemes discloses:
and local oscillator frequency (Klemes, para [0068], Other phase control schemes utilizing coupled local oscillators at each antenna element have been able to control signal phase and steering angle for an antenna array using only 1 or 2 control lines. However, such schemes involve tuning of the coupled oscillators in order to realize the desired phase shifts, which offsets the carrier frequency in proportion to the steering angle, thereby introducing a systematic frequency error).
Crane discloses:
intermediate frequency leakage (Crane, col. 1, lines 40-50: An arrangement employing both microstrip and stripline is shown in FIG. 3. In the example implementation, energy is brought to the arms 32, 34 of the mixer diodes 12 via short lengths 36 and 38 of small diameter coaxial cable running between the dielectric layers 40 from conductors 42 and 44 from respective groups 28 and 30 of phase shifters 6 associated with the distribution networks 8 and 10. The mixer diodes 12 are caused to radiate into slots or other frequency selective elements for suppression of LO leakage and/or to support harmonic mixing),
radio frequency signal leakage (Crane, col. 1, lines 40-50),
spurious harmonics, (Crane, col. 3, lines 1-11: The preferred implementation uses single ended mixers with low cost mixer diodes and provides harmonic mixing as well as fundamental mixing. Spurious suppression is inherent in the distributed mix approach, and it offers the potential for improved noise performance. These devices are broad band and low in conversion loss, and consist of one diode each, with no supporting network. The phase shifters which they replace are inherently complex and relatively narrow band devices. In addition, the technique is inherently amenable to low cost production techniques.)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Klemes with Crane to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 9 wherein said bandpass filters are configured to reduce an amplitude of a component chosen from: intermediate frequency leakage, radio frequency signal leakage, spurious harmonics. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail to disclose: the phased array antenna as described in claim 9 wherein said bandpass filters are configured to reduce an amplitude of a component chosen from: as discloses by Moeller.
Moeller discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 9 wherein said bandpass filters are configured to reduce an amplitude of a component chosen from (Moeller, Fig 1A, band-pass filter 130)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Klemes with Crane to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 9 wherein said bandpass filters are configured to reduce an amplitude of a component chosen from. The arts disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency; however, the combination of Klemes and Crane fail discloses: the phased array antenna as described in claim 9 wherein said bandpass filters are configured to reduce an amplitude of a component. The modification would render the predictable results of improved interference management from adjacent bands, improved reduction of RF leakage and spurious emissions and harmonics
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klemes (US 20160218429 A1) in view of Crane (US 4731614 A) in further view of Shoki (US 6184828 B1)
Regarding claim 14, Klemes discloses:
Crane discloses:
The combination of Klemes and Crane fails to discloses: gallium nitride, silicon-germanium processes and silicon-based processes as disclosed within Shoki.
Shoki discloses:
the phased array antenna as described in claim 13 wherein said radio-frequency integrated circuitry is chosen from gallium arsenide (Shoki US 6184828 B1, col. 35, lines 19-28: The MMIC module 743 has the phase shifters 674, 675, 676, and 677, the amplifiers 678, 679, 680, and 681, the combining device 691, the RF lines, the control circuit, and so forth as shown in FIG. 47. These circuits are formed on a substrate made of gallium arsenide or silicone. The MMIC module 734 sets a predetermined amplitude and phase so as to scan the beam in the corresponding direction. The output signal of the MMIC module 743 is sent to an external transmitter or receiver to or from a connector 744 through a port 740),
gallium nitride,
silicon-germanium processes and silicon-based processes (Shoki US 6184828 B1, col. 35, lines 19-28).
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Klemes with Crane to incorporate the features of: the phased array antenna as described in claim 13 wherein said radio-frequency integrated circuitry is chosen from gallium arsenide
gallium nitride, silicon-germanium processes and silicon-based processes. Neither Klemes nor Crane disclose radio-frequency integrated circuitry is chose from gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, silicon-germanium processes and silicon-based processes as discloses within Shoki. While they all disclose phased array antenna system with power efficiency, the modification of Shoki with the combination of Klemes and Crane would render the predictable results of improved power density, reduced risk of thermal degradation, and improved integration
References Cited But Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as thus:
Miraftab et al US 20170207545 A1 discloses overlapping linear sub-array for phased array antennas that includes radiating patterns for 16x16 (paras [0037-0039], NxM arrays (para [0071]), and phase shifting (paras [0045-0046])
Charvat et al US 20220413141 A1 discloses a terahertz sensor technology for antenna array that comprises silicon (paras [0018-0019]), harmonic frequency multipliers (para [0049]), sub-harmonic mixers (paras [0062-0066]), addition semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), gallium phosphide (GaP) (para [0238])
Goto et al US 20220311470 A1 discloses a multi-layers phased array antenna array with multiple feeds
Eshrah et al US 20220166138 A1 discloses a printed phased array antenna that comprises silicon-based materials (para [0056])
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.
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY JENKINS whose telephone number is (571)272-0404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8a-5p EST.
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, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at 517.270.5144. 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.
/KIMBERLY JENKINS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Prosecution Insights