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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-6, 8-11 and 14 (Species I) is acknowledged.
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 10 is 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 10 reciting “a plurality of third electrical conductors, …, and the second electrical conductors are larger than the third electrical conductors” is indefinite, since it’s unclear how “a plurality of third electrical conductors” are present absent recitation of “a plurality of second electrical conductors”. It appears that this claim should depend on claim 9 instead of claim 1.
There should be a clear recitation of interrelated structure in order to provide a complete and operable antenna package structure.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Astorga” (US 2023/0395967).
Claim 1: Astorga discloses a modular scalable antenna package structure, for electrically connecting to a main circuit board 140 (Fig. 2) which comprises a signal control module 142 (¶ 26), comprising:
a carrier 120 comprising a first main body which comprises a first surface 131 and a second surface 139 disposed opposite to the first surface;
a plurality of antenna radiation elements 125 disposed on the first surface; and
a plurality of radio frequency front-end circuits 125 disposed on the second surface and electrically connected to the antenna radiation elements (see Fig. 2 and ¶ 31).
Astorga fails to expressly teach the radio frequency front-end circuits are electrically connected the signal control module.
However, Astorga teaches in ¶ 55, “DC voltages and control voltages originating from DC connector 146 and FGPA 142 may be routed through columns 122 to RFIC chips 126 and SPI chips 127 via conductors formed in metal layers 266 and 270.”
Astorga further teaches in ¶ 56, “In a similar fashion, control signals may be routed from FGPA 142 to SPI chips 127 and/or RFIC chips 126 through columns 122c. For instance, phase/amplitude control signals for beam steering may be generated by FGPA 142 and routed to SPI chips 127.”
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to design Astorga’s package structure such that the radio frequency front-end circuits are electrically connected the signal control module, in order to facilitate phase control (¶ 31)
Claim 11: Astorga discloses a phased array antenna device, comprising:
a main circuit board 140 (Fig. 2) comprising a third (bottom) surface and a fourth (top) surface disposed opposite to the third surface;
a modular scalable antenna package structure (120, 126-128) disposed on the third surface of the main circuit board; and
a signal control module 142 (¶ 26) disposed on the main circuit board;
wherein the modular scalable antenna package structure comprises a carrier 120, a plurality of antenna radiation elements 125, and a plurality of radio frequency front-end circuits 126 (see Fig. 1 and ¶ 31);
wherein the carrier comprises a first main body (see Fig. 2);
wherein the first main body comprises a first surface 131 and a second surface 139 disposed opposite to the first surface;
wherein the antenna radiation elements are disposed on the first surface (see Fig. 2);
wherein the radio frequency front-end circuits are disposed on the second surface and are electrically connected to the antenna radiation elements (see Fig. 2 and ¶ 31).
Astorga fails to expressly teach the radio frequency front-end circuits are electrically connected the signal control module.
However, Astorga teaches in ¶ 55, “DC voltages and control voltages originating from DC connector 146 and FGPA 142 may be routed through columns 122 to RFIC chips 126 and SPI chips 127 via conductors formed in metal layers 266 and 270.”
Astorga further teaches in ¶ 56, “In a similar fashion, control signals may be routed from FGPA 142 to SPI chips 127 and/or RFIC chips 126 through columns 122c. For instance, phase/amplitude control signals for beam steering may be generated by FGPA 142 and routed to SPI chips 127.”
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to design Astorga’s device such that the radio frequency front-end circuits are electrically connected the signal control module, in order to facilitate phase control (¶ 31).
Claims 2-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Astorga (cited above) in view of “Kamgaing” (US 2012/0280380).
Claim 2: Astorga fails to teach wherein the carrier further comprises a flange which is disposed on the second surface of the first main body, is extended away from the second surface, and is connected to the main circuit board.
Kamgaing discloses wherein the carrier 1080 (Fig. 10) further comprises a flange 1090 which is disposed on the second (bottom) surface of the first main body 1080, is extended away from the second surface, and is connected to the main circuit board 1072.
Kamgaing teaches in ¶ 77, “The PAA substrate 1080 is illustrated with four occurrences of planar antenna elements 1081, 1082, 1083, and 1084 that are exposed through an array mask 1086. … The ground plane 1088 is coupled to dummy bumps 1090 through ground vias 1092 in the PAA substrate 1080.”
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Astorga’s invention such that wherein the carrier further comprises a flange which is disposed on the second surface of the first main body, is extended away from the second surface, and is connected to the main circuit board, in order to facilitate grounding and integration with the main circuit board.
Claims 3-4 and 6: Astorga teaches the modular scalable antenna package structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flange 1090 (Fig. 10 of Kamgaing) is disposed at an edge of the second (lower) surface of the first main body 1080;
wherein the flange is a closed structure, the flange and the first main body are connected to the main circuit board 1072 (Fig. 10 of Kamgaing) to form a cavity, and the radio frequency front-end circuit 1010 is disposed in the cavity.
wherein the flange 1090 is shaped in a frame and comprises a first side connected to the first main body 1080 (Fig. 10 of Kamgaing).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 8-9 and 14 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.
Claim 10 would 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.
Nair (US 9153863)
Teshima (US 10270186)
Astorga (US 12418096)
Lee (US 12218407)
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/HASAN ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845