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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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.
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, 4-5, 8-10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Sone” (US 12362480)
Claim 1: Sone discloses a patch antenna comprising:
a patch element 32 of a conductor plate A (Fig. 7 reproduced below);
a ground conductor including a conductor base portion 21 facing the patch element and an extension portion (24, 25) extending from an end portion of the conductor base portion (see Fig. 7); and
a dielectric body B interposed between the patch element and the ground conductor, wherein
the extension portion extends toward a side opposite to a side where the patch element is disposed (see Fig. 7).
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Claim 4: Sone teaches the patch antenna according to claim 1, further comprising a dielectric extension portion 31 (Fig. 1), wherein the dielectric extension portion is provided at the ground conductor (col. 5, second para.).
Claim 5: Sone teaches the patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric body is a dielectric spacer (see Fig. 7), and
the dielectric spacer is interposed between the patch element and the conductor base portion, the dielectric spacer has a facing area smaller than the conductor base portion, and a space between the patch element and the conductor base portion where the dielectric spacer is absent is hollow (see Fig. 7).
Sone fails to expressly teach the dielectric spacer has a facing area smaller than the patch element.
However, such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Nevertheless, Sone teaches “The patch antenna 32 is used in either one of frequency bands of the GPS (Global Positioning System: a frequency band of 1575.397 to 1576.443 MHz) and the GNSS (a frequency band of 1597.807 to 1605.6305 MHz). Operating frequencies of the patch antenna 32 can appropriately be changed.” (Para. bridging cols 4 and 5.)
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 Sone’s antenna such that the dielectric spacer has a facing area smaller than the patch element, in order to obtain tuned operation frequencies.
Claims 8-10: Sone teaches an antenna device comprising the patch antenna according to claim 1 housed in a case 10 (Fig. 1) including (inherently) a radio wave transmissive portion 101;
wherein the patch antenna is supported by a vehicle body such that main polarization of the patch antenna is for vertical polarization (see para. bridging cols. 4 and 5);
wherein the case has a combined structure of a first case portion 104 (Fig. 1) and a second case portion 105, and the extension portion is sandwiched between the first case portion and the second case portion (see Figs. 1 and 7).
Claim 13: Sone teaches the patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein the conductor base portion has a quadrangular shape having a pair of short sides 22, 23 (Fig. 6) parallel to a resonance direction of the patch element 32 and a pair of long sides (24, 25) each of which intersects the pair of short sides (see Fig. 6), and
the extension portion is provided along the pair of long sides (see Fig. 7).
Claims 1-2, 7 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Nalbandian” (US 5703601).
Claim 1: Nalbandian discloses a patch antenna comprising:
a patch element 8 of a conductor plate (Fig. 1B);
a ground conductor (2, 4, 31, 32) including a conductor base portion 4 facing the patch element and an extension portion (31, 32) extending from an end portion of the conductor base portion (see Fig. 1B); and
a body 10 interposed between the patch element and the ground conductor, wherein
the extension portion extends toward a side opposite to a side where the patch element is disposed (see Fig. 1B).
Nalbandian fails to expressly teach the body being dielectric.
However, Nalbandian teaches “The embodiment of the circularly polarized antenna of this invention shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C is comprised of a conductive ground plane 2, a conductive patch 4 spaced from the ground plane 2 so as to form a cavity 6 and a conductive patch 8 spaced from the patch 4 so as to form a cavity 10. The ground plane is shown as being square, but it could have any shape, as is known to those skilled in the art. The patches 4 and 8 are squares of the same size, and their respective sides are parallel. If the patches 4 and 8 are sufficiently rigid, the cavities 6 and 10 may be filled with air, but if the antenna is fabricated from microstrip, the cavities 6 and 10 may be filled with a solid dielectric or insulating material such as Duroid.TM.” (Col. 2, ll. 15-28.)
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 Nalbandian’s body using dielectric material, in order to obtain a circularly polarized antenna.
Claim 2: Nalbandian teaches the patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein the extension portion is electrically connected to the end portion of the conductor base portion, and is provided perpendicularly or obliquely with respect to a plane formed by the conductor base portion (see Fig. 1B).
Claims 7, 11 and 12: Nalbandian teaches the patch antenna according to claim 1, wherein a center conductor of a coaxial cable 12 is connected to the patch element, and an outer conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to the ground conductor (see Fig. 1B);
wherein the patch element is configured to operate with linear polarization (col. 1, third para.);
wherein in a plan view, the patch element is disposed within an outer edge of the conductor base portion (see Fig. 1B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HASAN Z ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)270-1719. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DAMEON LEVI can be reached on (571)272-2105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HASAN ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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