CTNF 18/638,331 CTNF 78941 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 a(1) as being anticipated by Nagai et al. (US 2007/0072567) . Referring to Claim 1, Nagai teaches a communication device that receives a response signal transmitted from a wireless tag, the wireless tag operates with power obtained from a received carrier wave (see tag 14 in fig. 1 receiving and transmitting to the device 12), the device comprising: a first generation unit configured to generate the carrier wave (see carrier generating portion 16 in fig 2); a common unit (see 26 of fig. 2) configured to: input, by an input terminal, the carrier wave (see input to 26 in fig. 2 from transmitting section), output, by an input and output terminal, the carrier wave (see 20 of fig. 2 which shows the antenna inputting and outputting signals), and output, by an output terminal, a signal input to the input and output terminal (see output from 26 which outputs signals received by antenna); a second generation unit configured to generate a cancelation signal by changing an amplitude and a phase of the carrier wave (see paragraph 65 which shows a cancelling portion 22 which changes the amplitude and phase of the carrier wave); a suppression unit configured to suppress a self-interference signal included in the signal output from the output terminal by combining the signal output from the output terminal and the cancelation signal (see paragraph 65 which shows the combining portion which combines the received signal and the cancel signal); and an adjustment unit configured to adjust the cancelation signal according to the signal output from the output terminal, while inputting the carrier wave output by the first generation unit to the input terminal of the common unit for a first period having a length such that the wireless tag is not activated (see paragraph 174 which shows the adjusting of the phase and amplitude of the cancel signal while the carrier wave is generated and sent to antenna portion by way of common unit where no carrier wave is transmitted during the adjustment which implies that the tag is not activated). Referring to Claim 5, Nagai also teaches the adjustment unit configured to cause the second generation unit to output the cancelation signal, measure the amplitude and the phase of the self-interference signal, and set an initial amplitude value and an initial phase value of the cancelation signal within a predetermined sweep range (see paragraph 32 which shows the initial phase and amplitude within a search range for the cancel signal). Referring to Claim 6, Nagai also teaches the adjustment unit is configured to perform a sweep process of the amplitude and the phase of the cancelation signal within the predetermined sweep range (see paragraph 32 which shows the search/sweep process of the amplitude and phase of the cancel signal), and wherein the sweep process defines the first period (see paragraph 174 which shows the duration of the adjustment process as the first period since no carrier wave is transmitted during that time). Referring to Claim 7, Nagai also teaches the adjustment unit configured to sequentially change an attenuation amount of the second generation unit within a predetermined range based on the predetermined sweep range (see paragraph 7 which shows the attenuator adjusted at regular intervals). Referring to Claim 8, Nagai also teaches the adjustment unit determining the attenuation amount when a level of the output signal becomes a minimum level (see paragraph 7 which shows the attenuator adjusted to minimize the level of the output signal) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagai in view of Mueller et al. (US 2024/0330614) . Referring to Claim 9, Nagai does not teach wherein the adjustment unit is configured to determine if a defined suppression state is reached, the defined suppression state being a state where the self-interference signal is sufficiently suppressed. Mueller teaches wherein the adjustment unit is configured to determine if a defined suppression state is reached, the defined suppression state being a state where the self-interference signal is sufficiently suppressed (see paragraph 54 which shows the values of the amplitude and phase which sufficiently suppress the self-interference signal). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Mueller to the device of Nagai in order to more effectively reduce leakage of signal to interfere with other devices. Referring to Claim 10, Mueller also teaches wherein the self-interference signal is sufficiently suppressed when the output signal has decreased to -20 decibels or less compared to when there is no suppression (see paragraph 80 which shows the output signal when suppressed as 20dB less than the original signal). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Mueller to the device of Nagai in order to more effectively reduce leakage of signal to interfere with other devices . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2-4 and 11-13 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. Regarding Claim 2, Nagai and Mueller do not teach wherein when the adjustment unit fails to fully adjust the cancelation signal in the first period, the adjustment unit is configured to stop inputting the carrier wave to the input terminal in a second period having a predetermined length, and then, the adjustment unit adjusts the cancelation signal generated according to the signal output from the output terminal, while again inputting the carrier wave output by the first generation unit to the input terminal in the first period. Claim 3 depends on claim 2. Regarding Claim 4, Nagai and Mueller do not teach wherein when the adjustment unit fails to fully adjust the cancelation signal in the first period, the adjustment unit is configured to lower an input level of the carrier wave to the input terminal in a second period having a predetermined length, and then, the adjustment unit adjusts the cancelation signal according to signal output from the output terminal, while again inputting the carrier wave output by the first generation unit to the input terminal in the first period. Regarding Claim 11, Nagai and Mueller do not teach wherein in response to the defined suppression state not being reached, the adjustment unit is configured to count a number of trials of adjusting the cancelation signal. Claims 12 and 13 depend on claim 11. 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 14-20 are allowed. Regarding Claim 14, Nagai and Mueller do not teach an adjustment unit configured to form a state where the carrier wave is input to the input terminal for a first period having a length such that the wireless tag is not activated a plurality of times, while interposing a state where the carrier wave is not input to the input terminal for a second period having a predetermined length, and adjust the cancelation signal according to the signal output from the output terminal for the first period for the plurality of times. Claims 15-16 depend on claim 14. Regarding Claim 17, Nagai and Mueller do not teach an adjustment unit configured to form a state where the carrier wave output by the first generation unit is input to the input terminal for a first period having a length such that the wireless tag is not activated a plurality of times, while interposing a state where an input level of the carrier wave to the input terminal is lowered for a second period having a predetermined length, and adjust the cancelation signal according to the signal output from the output terminal for the first period for the plurality of times. Claims 18-20 depend on claim 17. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUGENE YUN whose telephone number is (571)272-7860. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm. 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, Wesley Kim can be reached at 5712727867. 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. /EUGENE YUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/638,331 Page 2 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/638,331 Page 3 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/638,331 Page 4 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/638,331 Page 6 Art Unit: 2648 Application/Control Number: 18/638,331 Page 7 Art Unit: 2648
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