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 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 5-6, 13-14 and 16 are 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.
Claims 5-6, Line 2 and claims 13-14, Line 3, note that the recitation of “when the captured second current response is greater than the captured first current response” is unclear to one of ordinary skill in the art, especially since such a recitation appears to contradictweaker than the captured first current response”, which appears to be a diametrically opposite limitation. Due to this inconsistency, it is not apparent whether these recitations are intended to be a conditional statement or two completely different outcomes that are cumulative, thereby leaving the boundaries of these claims as being unclear.
Claims 6, Line 4 and 14, Line 5, note that the recitation of “selectively adjusting” is unclear to one of ordinary skill in the art as to what would characterize any adjusting as being “selectively” as opposed to the mere “adjusting” as defined in claims from which these claims depend, thereby making it difficult to ascertain the boundaries of these claims.
Claim 16, Line 6, “the mirrored current reference current” was not previously defined earlier in this claim and not previously defined in independent claim 9 from which this claim directly depends and thus it is not clear to one of ordinary skill in the art what exactly is being claimed by this terminology, thereby causing a lack in understanding regarding the metes and bounds of the claimed subject matter herein.
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 7-12 and 15 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claims 1-4, 7-12 and 15 are allowable over the prior art of record, since the closest prior art of record to Watkins (US 6317027), while teaching tuning of an antenna circuit of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader using an antenna and capacitor coupled to a tuning circuit and comparing responses during tuning, fails to teach or suggest the receiving by the antenna and capturing a first and second current response by a current field strength detector circuit, as recited in independent claims 1 and 9.
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.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAIL YALDO whose telephone number is (703)756-1784. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7 AM - 4 PM.
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/ABIGAIL AMIR YALDO/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843