Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/724,559

ANTENNA-IN-MODULE - ANTENNA-IN-PACKAGE, CHIP, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 03, 2024
Examiner
CHAN, WEI
Art Unit
2844
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allow Rate
418 granted / 565 resolved
+6.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
590
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
67.0%
+27.0% vs TC avg
§102
7.1%
-32.9% vs TC avg
§112
14.5%
-25.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 565 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/03/2025, 04/22/2025 and 08/26/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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. CN202111649196.3, filed on 12/29/2021. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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 21,33 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo Jungwoo et al [Miniaturized Dual-Band Broadside/Endfire Antenna-in-Package for 5G Smartphone Vol.69 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION VOL. 69, NO. 12. DECEMBER 2021 Pages 8100-8114 (06/16/2021)] In regards to claim 21. Seo Jungwoo discloses an antenna-in-module (abstract: this is article proposes a miniaturized antenna in package for 5G mmW smartphones), comprising: a ground plate (Page 8101, last paragraph of the second column: the ground place is on layer 7: Fig. 2c); a first feed stub (Fig. 2c shows a first feed stub for feeding the patch with a first polarization: X-pol, the sub is arranged in layer 2), a second feed stub (Fig. 2c: patch antenna feed stub for the Y-pol in layer 2), the first radiating element, the second radiating element, and the third radiating element are separately in a coupling connection to the ground plate (Fig. 2c, all antennas are at the proximity of the ground plane, they are therefore coupled to some extent to said ground plane) wherein at least a part of the first feed stub is disposed in a first aperture, and the first aperture comprises space between the first gap and the ground plate (Fig. 2c, all antennas are at the proximity of the ground plane, the antennas are therefore coupled to some extent to ground plane) wherein at least a part of the second feed stub is disposed in a second aperture, and the second aperture comprises space between the second radiating element and the third radiating element (Fig. 2c, the second feed stub is in layer 2 which is above the layers of the dipoles and bloew the layer of the patch it feeds, it is therefore in an aperture between the second and third radiating elementl Fig. 2d shows the aperture along the Z-axis) Seo Jungwoo does not specify a first radiating element wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; a second radiating element, wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; a third radiating element, wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, and wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other. Seo Jungwoo discloses a first radiating element (Fig. 2a: 1st patch on left of the figure) wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; (Fig. 2a shows the axes, the interval between the 7th layer and the 1 st layer is also along z-axis) a second radiating element, (Fig. 2a: second patch next to the first patch) wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, (Fig. 2a, the 4 patch antennas of the array extend along the X-axis shown in Fig. 2a) and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; (Fig. 2a, There is a gap each antenna element and the gap extends in the Y-axis) a third radiating element (Fig. 2a, first dipole) wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, (Table III shows that depending on the type of dipole used, they are disposed either in layers 3 to 10 or 4 to 9, since the patches are disposed in layer 1(last paragraph of second column of page 8101 there is an interval in the Z-axis between the dipole and the patch)) wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other (see Fig. 2a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention was made to use teachings of Seo Jungwoo Fig. 2c with Fig. 2a to discloses a first radiating element wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; a second radiating element, wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; a third radiating element, wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, and wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other for purpose of improve the antenna bandwidth with dual band antenna as disclosed by Seo (Abstract). In regards to claim 33. Seo Jungwoo discloses the antenna-in-module according to claim 21, wherein the third radiating element reuses a partial structure of the ground plate (Page 8102 second column: strip lines are connected to the 16 channel RF chip) In regards to claim 37. Seo Jungwoo discloses an electronic device (abstract: this is article proposes a miniaturized antenna in package for 5G mmW smartphones), comprising an antenna-in-module, the antenna-in-module comprising: a ground plate (Page 8101, last paragraph of the second column: the ground place is on layer 7: Fig. 2c); a first feed stub (Fig. 2c shows a first feed stub for feeding the patch with a first polarization: X-pol, the sub is arranged in layer 2), a second feed stub (Fig. 2c: patch antenna feed stub for the Y-pol in layer 2), the first radiating element, the second radiating element, and the third radiating element are separately in a coupling connection to the ground plate (Fig. 2c, all antennas are at the proximity of the ground plane, they are therefore coupled to some extent to said ground plane) wherein at least a part of the first feed stub is disposed in a first aperture, and the first aperture comprises space between the first gap and the ground plate (Fig. 2c, all antennas are at the proximity of the ground plane, the antennas are therefore coupled to some extent to ground plane) wherein at least a part of the second feed stub is disposed in a second aperture, and the second aperture comprises space between the second radiating element and the third radiating element (Fig. 2c, the second feed stub is in layer 2 which is above the layers of the dipoles and bloew the layer of the patch it feeds, it is therefore in an aperture between the second and third radiating elementl Fig. 2d shows the aperture along the Z-axis) Seo Jungwoo does not specify a first radiating element wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; a second radiating element, wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; a third radiating element, wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, and wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other. Seo Jungwoo discloses a first radiating element (Fig. 2a: 1st patch on left of the figure) wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; (Fig. 2a shows the axes, the interval between the 7th layer and the 1 st layer is also along z-axis) a second radiating element, (Fig. 2a: second patch next to the first patch) wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, (Fig. 2a, the 4 patch antennas of the array extend along the X-axis shown in Fig. 2a) and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; (Fig. 2a, There is a gap each antenna element and the gap extends in the Y-axis) a third radiating element (Fig. 2a, first dipole) wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, (Table III shows that depending on the type of dipole used, they are disposed either in layers 3 to 10 or 4 to 9, since the patches are disposed in layer 1(last paragraph of second column of page 8101 there is an interval in the Z-axis between the dipole and the patch)) wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other (see Fig. 2a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention was made to use teachings of Seo Jungwoo Fig. 2c with Fig. 2a to discloses a first radiating element wherein the first radiating element and the ground plate are arranged at an interval along a virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other; a second radiating element, wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along a virtual X-axis, and a first gap between the first radiating element and the second radiating element extends along a virtual Y-axis; a third radiating element, wherein the third radiating element and the second radiating element are arranged at an interval along the virtual Z-axis and are disposed opposite to each other, and wherein the virtual X-axis, the virtual Y-axis, and the virtual Z-axis are perpendicular to each other for purpose of improve the antenna bandwidth with dual band antenna as disclosed by Seo (Abstract). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 22-32, 34-36 and 38-40 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: “wherein the first radiating element comprises a first radiator and a second radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a second gap between the first radiator and the second radiator extends along the virtual X-axis; wherein the second radiating element comprises a third radiator and a fourth radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a third gap between the third radiator and the fourth radiator extends along the virtual X-axis; and wherein the third radiating element comprises a fifth radiator and a sixth radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a fourth gap between the fifth radiator and the sixth radiator extends along the virtual X-axis.” as shown in claim 22 “wherein the first radiating element comprises a first radiator and a second radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a second gap between the first radiator and the second radiator extends along the virtual X-axis; wherein the second radiating element comprises a virtual third radiator and a virtual fourth radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a third gap between the virtual third radiator and the virtual fourth radiator extends along the virtual X-axis; and wherein the third radiating element comprises a fifth radiator and a sixth radiator that are arranged at an interval along the virtual Y-axis, and a fourth gap between the fifth radiator and the sixth radiator extends along the virtual X-axis.” as shown in claim 38. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEI (VICTOR) CHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5177. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am to 6:00pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Taningco can be reached at 571-272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. WEI (VICTOR) CHAN Primary Examiner Art Unit 2844 /WEI (VICTOR) Y CHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 03, 2024
Application Filed
Mar 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+14.7%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 565 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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