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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2021-140483, filed on 08/30/2021.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-6 in the reply filed on 11/11/2025 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s election of Group I1 (Claims 1-6) in the reply filed on 11/11/2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.03(a)).
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.
Claims 1, 4, and 6 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 1 and 6 recites the limitation “the control unit is configured to transmit a radio wave in different directions for each of two or more different frequencies by using beam squint of the leaky wave antenna”. This feature is indefinite as a control unit cannot be configured to transmit a radio wave. The antenna is the transmission medium. The specification appears to say that the control unit controls the directivity of the radio wave (¶[0008]). For the purposes of compact prosecution, any control unit that is configured to control the directivity of the radio waves would anticipate said features. Furthermore, regarding the recitation that an element is ‘configured to’ perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the element array”. There is no antecedent basis for this in the claims.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “the plurality of element rows” and “the direction of the beam squint”. There is no antecedent basis for this in the claims.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chang et al. (US 8253642; hereinafter Chang).
Regarding independent claim 1, Chang (fig. 4-6) discloses “An antenna device comprising: a leaky wave antenna (41), a high-frequency unit (604/605), and a control unit (610), wherein the leaky wave antenna comprises an element row (row of 41s), the element row comprises a plurality of unit elements disposed in series (see fig. 4), the unit element comprises a capacitance unit and an inductance unit, and either the capacitance unit or the inductance unit is disposed in series with an adjacent other unit element (figs. 1-3 and col. 2 line 62 to col. 3 line 7; “the antenna unit 100 is equivalent to a CRLH transmission line. The metal sheet 120, the conductive pole 210 and the metal ground layer 110 are equivalent to a left-hand inductor of the CRLH transmission line, and the transmission line 130, the metal block 171 and the conductive pole 220 are equivalent to a left-hand capacitor of the CRLH transmission line”), the control unit is connected to the high-frequency unit (fig. 7, 610 connects to 640/650) and configured to control a directivity of a radio wave, the high frequency unit comprises a high frequency output unit (end of transmission line is an output unit), and the high frequency unit is connected to the leaky wave antenna (fig. 4 and col 6 lines 29-30; “The antenna units 411-416 are connected in series to extend outwards from the transmission lines 601 and 602 of the antenna unit 430 to form the first antenna series 41”), wherein, the control unit is configured to transmit a radio wave in different directions for each of two or more different frequencies by using beam squint of the leaky wave antenna (see 112b rejection and note on configured to. All elements are recited so this control unit is configured to perform the function)”.
Regarding claim 2, Chang discloses “The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein an angle at which a transmission range of radio waves viewed from the antenna device is 60 degrees or more, due to the beam squint of the leaky wave antenna (Table 1 shows angle at which a transmission range of radio waves of the leaky wave antenna is 70 degrees (-30 to +26))”.
Regarding claim 3, Chang discloses “The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the leaky wave antenna is a left-handed leaky wave antenna comprising a metamaterial (col. 2 lines 64-67; “the antenna units are respectively equivalent to a composite right/left-hand (CRLH) transmission line”)”.
Regarding claim 4, Chang discloses “The antenna device according to claim 1,comprising two mutually independent power feeding units (PT31/PT32) at both ends of the element array”.
Regarding claim 5, Chang discloses “The antenna device according to claim 1,wherein the leaky wave antenna is a dual-polarization antenna comprising two element rows and corresponding to two mutually orthogonal polarizations (fig. 4, two arrays 41 and 42 are orthogonal)”.
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang in view of Lee et al. (US9871300; hereinafter Lee).
Regarding claim 6, Chang discloses the antenna device according to claim 1 as shown previously.
Chang does not disclose “wherein the plurality of element rows are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the beam squint to form an array, and the control unit is configured to transmit a radio wave in a direction of the beam squint and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the beam squint by controlling the beam squint and the plurality of element rows”.
However, Lee teaches “wherein the plurality of element rows are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the beam squint to form an array, and the control unit is configured to transmit a radio wave in a direction of the beam squint and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the beam squint by controlling the beam squint and the plurality of element rows (fig. 1B-1D and col. 2 lines 45-53; The embodiments described herein may address the above noted deficiencies by the electronic device including a phased array antenna structure that is steerable. The phased array antenna structure herein can utilize multiple leaky wave antenna (LWA) cells with tunable components and a controller to set a radiation angle of the phased array antenna. In one example, the controller can generate a control signal to electronically steer the LWA cells)”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Lee and make Chang’s antenna device wherein the plurality of element rows are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the beam squint to form an array, and the control unit is configured to transmit a radio wave in a direction of the beam squint and in a direction substantially perpendicular to the beam squint by controlling the beam squint and the plurality of element rows, in order to give space for the beam squint to be angled.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AUSTIN MICHAEL BACK whose telephone number is (703)756-4521. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM ET.
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/AUSTIN M BACK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845