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 Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 15, line 4, “power amplifier” should be replaced by “the power amplifier” or its equivalent for consistency with antecedent in claim 13, line 5. Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-13, 15-17, 19 and 20 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4-6, 8-13, 16, 18 and 20 of copending Application No. 18/750,710 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
Instant Application S/N:18/586,838
Reference Application S/N: 18/750,710
1. A system, comprising: a subgroup of unit cells of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the subgroup of unit cells electrically coupled to a power amplifier shared by the subgroup, the subgroup configured to: receive an electromagnetic signal having a polarization to obtain a received electromagnetic signal; couple the received electromagnetic signal to a first microstrip line electrically coupled to the power amplifier to input the received electromagnetic signal to the power amplifier; amplify and delay the electromagnetic signal to output an amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal to a second microstrip line electrically coupled to the power amplifier, the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal having a same polarization as the received electromagnetic signal; and couple the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the second microstrip line to respective resonating metallic portions of respective unit cells of the subgroup, to combine and redirect the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the subgroup.
1. A system, comprising: a subgroup of a group of unit cells of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the subgroup electrically coupled to a power amplifier and tunable delay device shared by the subgroup, the subgroup configured to: receive an electromagnetic signal having a polarization to obtain a received electromagnetic signal; couple the received electromagnetic signal to a first microstrip line electrically coupled to the power amplifier to input the received electromagnetic signal to the power amplifier; selectively amplify the received electromagnetic signal to output a selectively amplified electromagnetic signal to the tunable delay device, to output a selectively amplified and delayed signal to a second microstrip line electrically coupled to the tunable delay device, the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal having a same polarization as the polarization of the received electromagnetic signal; and couple the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the second microstrip line to respective resonating metallic portions of respective unit cells of the subgroup, to combine and redirect the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the subgroup.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective unit cells of the subgroup couple the received electromagnetic signal to the first microstrip line via first respective openings of a slotted plane layer, and wherein the respective unit cells of the subgroup couple the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal to the respective resonating metallic portions via second respective openings of the slotted plane layer.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective unit cells of the subgroup couple the received electromagnetic signal to the first microstrip line via first respective openings of a slotted plane layer, and wherein the respective unit cells of the subgroup couple the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal to the respective resonating metallic portions via second respective openings of the slotted plane layer.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first respective openings are hourglass shaped.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first respective openings and the second respective openings are hourglass shaped.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the second respective openings are hourglass shaped.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first respective openings and the second respective openings are hourglass shaped.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the first respective openings and second respective openings are sized to correspond to a resonating frequency of the respective resonating metallic portions.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first respective openings and second respective openings are sized to correspond to a resonating frequency of the respective resonating metallic portions.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the power amplifier is coupled to a delay line, wherein the power amplifier is configured to amplify the signal, and wherein the delay line is configured to delay the electromagnetic signal, to output the amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal.
1. A system, comprising: a subgroup of a group of unit cells of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the subgroup electrically coupled to a power amplifier and tunable delay device shared by the subgroup, the subgroup configured to: receive an electromagnetic signal having a polarization to obtain a received electromagnetic signal; couple the received electromagnetic signal to a first microstrip line electrically coupled to the power amplifier to input the received electromagnetic signal to the power amplifier; selectively amplify the received electromagnetic signal to output a selectively amplified electromagnetic signal to the tunable delay device, to output a selectively amplified and delayed signal to a second microstrip line electrically coupled to the tunable delay device, the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal having a same polarization as the polarization of the received electromagnetic signal; and couple the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the second microstrip line to respective resonating metallic portions of respective unit cells of the subgroup, to combine and redirect the selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic signal from the subgroup.
7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an impedance matching circuit coupled to the power amplifier.
8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an impedance matching circuit coupled to the power amplifier.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the subgroup comprises a two-dimensional array of the respective unit cells.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the subgroup comprises a two-dimensional array of the respective unit cells.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises a first number of unit cells in a first dimension that equals a second number of unit cells in a second dimension.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises: four unit cells arranged as two unit cells by two unit cells, nine unit cells arranged as three unit cells by three unit cells, sixteen unit cells arranged as four unit cells by four unit cells, or twenty-five unit cells arranged as five unit cells by five unit cells.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises: four unit cells arranged as two unit cells by two unit cells, nine unit cells arranged as three unit cells by three unit cells, sixteen unit cells arranged as four unit cells by four unit cells, or twenty-five unit cells arranged as five unit cells by five unit cells.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises: four unit cells arranged as two unit cells by two unit cells, nine unit cells arranged as three unit cells by three unit cells, sixteen unit cells arranged as four unit cells by four unit cells, or twenty-five unit cells arranged as five unit cells by five unit cells.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises a first number of unit cells in a first dimension that does not equal a second number of unit cells in a second dimension.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises a first number of unit cells in a first dimension that does not equal a second number of unit cells in a second dimension.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the subgroup comprises a first modular array of the respective unit cells that is configured to couple to a second modular array of the reconfigurable intelligent surface.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional array comprises a first number of unit cells in a first dimension ( synonymous to first modular array) that does not equal a second number of unit cells in a second dimension (synonymous to the second modular array).
13. A unit cell, comprising: a resonating metallic portion; a slotted plane comprising a first opening configured to pass an impinging electromagnetic wave to a first microstrip line coupled to the unit cell, the unit cell coupled to a power amplifier that amplifies the impinging electromagnetic wave into an amplified electromagnetic wave obtained by a second microstrip line coupled to the unit cell; and the slotted plane comprising a second opening configured to pass the amplified electromagnetic wave from the second microstrip line to the resonating metallic portion to redirect the amplified electromagnetic wave as a reflected amplified electromagnetic wave.
12. A unit cell, comprising: a resonating metallic portion; and a slotted plane comprising a first opening configured to pass an impinging electromagnetic wave to a first microstrip line coupled to the unit cell, the unit cell coupled to: a power amplifier that amplifies the impinging electromagnetic wave into an amplified electromagnetic wave, and a tunable delay device that adds a delay to the amplified electromagnetic wave to output an amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave to a second microstrip line coupled to the unit cell, wherein the slotted plane further comprises a second opening configured to pass the amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave from the second microstrip line to the resonating metallic portion to redirect the amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave as a reflected selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave.
15. The unit cell of claim 13, wherein the unit cell is a first unit cell, wherein the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave comprises a first instance of the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave from the first unit cell, wherein the unit cell is coupled to a second unit cell by the first microstrip line to share power amplifier, and to the second microstrip line, and wherein the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave comprises a second instance of the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave from the second unit cell that combines with the first instance of the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave from the first unit cell.
13. The unit cell of claim 12, wherein the unit cell is a first unit cell, wherein the reflected amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave comprises a first instance of the reflected amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave from the first unit cell, wherein the first unit cell is coupled to a second unit cell by the first microstrip line to share the power amplifier and the tunable delay device, and to the second microstrip line, and wherein the reflected amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave comprises a second instance of the reflected amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave from the second unit cell that combines with the first instance of the reflected amplified electromagnetic wave from the first unit cell.
17. A device, comprising: a subgroup of unit cells of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the subgroup of unit cells electrically coupled to a power amplifier shared by the subgroup; and each unit cell comprising: a resonating metallic pattern corresponding to a resonating frequency; and a slotted plane comprising a first opening that passes impinging electromagnetic signals to a first contact of a first microstrip line, the first microstrip line coupled to an input of the power amplifier to output amplified electromagnetic signals to a delay line that outputs delayed amplified electromagnetic signals, the delay line coupled to a second contact of a second microstrip line that passes the delayed amplified electromagnetic signals through a second opening of the slotted plane to the resonating metallic pattern to redirect the impinging electromagnetic signals as delayed amplified electromagnetic signals.
16. A device, comprising: a group of unit cells of a reconfigurable intelligent surface, the group of unit cells electrically coupled to signal processing circuitry shared by the group, the signal processing circuitry comprising a power amplifier and a tunable delay device; and each unit cell of the group of unit cells comprising: a respective resonating metallic pattern corresponding to a respective resonating frequency; and a respective slotted plane comprising a respective first opening that passes impinging electromagnetic signals to a first contact of a first microstrip line, the first microstrip line electrically coupled to: an input of the signal processing circuitry to obtain processed electromagnetic signals comprising at least one of: amplified electromagnetic signals, or delayed electromagnetic signals, and an output of the signal processing circuitry coupled to a second contact of a second microstrip line that passes the processed electromagnetic signals through a respective second opening of the respective slotted plane to the respective resonating metallic pattern to redirect the impinging electromagnetic signals as respective processed electromagnetic signals.
19. The device of claim 17, wherein the subgroup comprises a first subgroup arranged as a first modular array of the respective unit cells that is configured to couple to a second subgroup arranged as a second modular array of the reconfigurable intelligent surface.
18. The device of claim 16, wherein the group comprises a first subgroup arranged as a first modular array of the respective unit cells that is configured to couple to a second subgroup arranged as a second modular array of the reconfigurable intelligent surface.
20. The device of claim 17, wherein the subgroup comprises an impedance matching circuit coupled to the power amplifier.
20. The device of claim 19, wherein the controller controls the power amplifier to determine an amplification level of the power amplifier from among different available amplification levels, and wherein the signal processing circuitry comprises an impedance matching circuit.
16. The unit cell of claim 13, wherein the power amplifier is coupled to a delay element that delays the amplified electromagnetic wave relative to the impinging electromagnetic wave to mitigate interference between the impinging electromagnetic wave and the amplified electromagnetic wave.
12. A unit cell, comprising: a resonating metallic portion; and a slotted plane comprising a first opening configured to pass an impinging electromagnetic wave to a first microstrip line coupled to the unit cell, the unit cell coupled to: a power amplifier that amplifies the impinging electromagnetic wave into an amplified electromagnetic wave, and a tunable delay device that adds a delay to the amplified electromagnetic wave to output an amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave to a second microstrip line coupled to the unit cell, wherein the slotted plane further comprises a second opening configured to pass the amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave from the second microstrip line to the resonating metallic portion to redirect the amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave as a reflected selectively amplified and delayed electromagnetic wave.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
“A later patent claim is not patentably distinct from an earlier patent claim if the later claim is obvious over, or anticipated by, the earlier claim. In re Longi, 759 F.2d at 896, 225 USPQ at 651 (affirming a holding of obviousness-type double patenting because the claims at issue were obvious over claims in four prior art patents); In re Berg, 140 F.3d at 1437, 46 USPQ2d at 1233 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (affirming a holding of obviousness-type double patenting where a patent application claim to a genus is anticipated by a patent claim to a species within that genus). “ ELI LILLY AND COMPANY v BARR LABORATORIES, INC., United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ON PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC (DECIDED: May 30, 2001).
5. Claim 18 is provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 16 of copending Application No.18/750,710 (reference application) in view of Infante et al US20130249772 A1. However claim 16 of the reference application does not explicitly teach the first opening and the second opening of each unit cell are hourglass and sized to correspond to the resonating frequency. However, the concept of using openings that are hourglass shaped and sized to correspond to a frequency is known in Infante et al para. [0072]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art to have modified claim 16 of the reference application by providing openings that are hourglass shaped and sized to correspond to the resonating frequency in order to improve the system efficiency.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 14 is 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.
Conclusion
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/JEAN B CORRIELUS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
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