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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 09/11/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendments
Claims 1-8, 12-16 and 21 are currently pending. Applicant’s amendments have overcome the 35 USC 112, 35 USC 102 and 35 USC 103 rejections previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed 06/11/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the newly added claim 21 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.
Applicant argued that “New independent claim 21 combines dependent claims 2, 12, and 13 into previous independent claim 1. Applicant respectfully disagrees that the combination of Tao, Cao, Kawaguchi, and Gupta disclose, teach or suggest all the features of new independent claim 21” and “None of the cited references, Tao, Cao, Kawaguchi, and Gupta, solely and in combination, disclose, teach or suggest, among other features, "an outermost metal layer of the two metal layers includes a metal edge lying in a plane surrounding and defining a central opening and a center patch element that is a metal pad in the central opening and separated from the metal edge," as recited in new independent claim 21. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully submits that new independent claim 21 is in condition for allowance and respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.”
The arguments are moot because claim 21 is now being rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al, CN-210296620-U (cited in “Citation of Pertinent Art” in the Final Office Action mailed 06/11/2026).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
(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.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al, CN-210296620-U (hereinafter Wu).
Regarding claim 21, Wu discloses the following:
a directionally-tunable antenna element of an antenna, the directionally-tunable antenna element comprising:
a substrate layer (1110, fig. 1);
a feed structure (123, 1231, 1232) having a first input (1232, fig. 3, page 5, para 3: the number T-shaped feed-out end 1231, and a feed-in end of the 1232 respectively is 2) to receive a first electromagnetic signal and a second input (1232) to receive a second electromagnetic signal;
a coupling structure (122, 1221) adjacent to the feed structure;
a ridge structure (1110, 1111, 1112, 1122) adjacent to the coupling structure (122) and having two metal layers (1112, 1122) made of a first metal and sandwiching the substrate layer (1110),
wherein an outermost metal layer (1112, 1111) of the two metal layers includes a metal edge (1112) lying in a plane surrounding and defining a central opening (fig. 1, page 6: wherein the first metal strip structure 1112 including the first radiation patch 1111 is surrounded and the first radiation patch 1111 gap exists between the said first metal strip structure 1112) and a center patch element (1111) that is a metal pad in the central opening and separated from the metal edge (fig. 1); and
a plurality of through-hole vias (103) connecting the two metal layers through the substrate layer (fig. 1);
wherein the coupling structure (122, 1221) is disposed between the feed structure (123) and the ridge structure (1110, 1111, 1112, 1122), and
wherein the coupling structure is configured to communicate electromagnetic energy between the feed structure and the ridge structure (page 5, para 4: two paths of signal phase difference of 90 degrees, and continuously are respectively transmitted to the corresponding two T-shaped transverse arm position of the feed-out end 1231, further fed through the radiation transmission to the corresponding H-shaped feed gap 1221, and finally radiated to the space by the radiation patch); and
a first electromagnetic signal source that tunes (a) an amplitude or a phase of the first electromagnetic signal at the first input (page 5, para 2: to make the feed circuit in the two adjacent T-shaped feed-out end 1231 respectively transmit the same signal amplitude and signal phase difference of 90 degrees) or (b) an amplitude or a phase of the second electromagnetic signal at the second input to cause the directionally-tunable antenna element to steer an emitted beam of the first electromagnetic signal or the second electromagnetic signal responsive to the tuning.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 12-16 are allowed.
Regarding claim 1, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “wherein the at least one phasing trace and the at least one further phasing trace collectively couple or combine the first input and the second input to cause the first electromagnetic signal to have, at the first reflective stub, a different phase than the second electromagnetic signal has at the second reflective stub”.
Regarding claim 14, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “coupling or combining a plurality of (i) inputs or (ii) outputs to the antenna, each of a co-planar directionally-tunable antenna element of the antenna comprising: a feed structure including a first input connected to a first reflective stub by at least one phasing trace, and a second input connected to a second reflective stub by at least one further phasing trace, each of the at least one phasing trace and the at least one further phasing trace collectively couple or combine the first input and the second input to cause an electromagnetic signal at the first reflective stub to have a different phase than the electromagnetic signal at the second reflective stub” and “a first electromagnetic signal source that tunes an amplitude or a phase of a first portion of the electromagnetic signal at the first input and a second portion of the electromagnetic signal at the second input to cause the co-planar directionally-tunable antenna element to steer an emitted beam of the electromagnetic signal responsive to the tuning”.
However, the prior art of record, when taken alone or in combination, cannot be construed as reasonably teaching or suggesting all of the elements of the claimed invention as arranged, disposed, or provided in the manner as claimed by the Applicant.
Claims 2-8, 12-13 and 15-16 are considered allowable due to their respective dependencies.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANH N HO whose telephone number is (571)272-4657. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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/DAMEON E LEVI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/ANH HO/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
