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
Claims 3-13 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/12/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being clearly anticipated by Kuroda et al. (US 5,233,360 of record).
Kuroda (e.g. Fig. 8) teaches a distributed constant circuit (e.g. 43-47 is a microstrip transmission line and a microstrip is fundamentally a distributed constant structure) including:
Regarding Claim 1, a dielectric (e.g. 42) including a first main surface (e.g. the top surface having the line 43-47) and a second main surface (e.g. the bottom surface of the dielectric 42) opposed to the first main surface; a transmission line (e.g. 43-47) arranged on the first main surface; and a ground electrode arranged on the second main surface (e.g. see Col. 5, lines 18-28, a ground is on the dielectric and which is on a layer opposite the transmission line conductor by the definition of a microstrip), wherein the transmission line includes a first line (e.g. 43, 47), a second line (e.g. 44, 46), and a third line (e.g. 45) that are formed to have different widths, and the transmission line includes a periodic structure in which the first line, the second line, the third line, the second line, and the first line are arranged in series in this order (e.g. see Fig. 8 and Col. 5, lines 18-28, line portions 43 thru 47 are in series order and have the width relationships in the same orientations as Fig. 1A of the present invention).
Regarding Claim 2, wherein the periodic structure is a periodic structure or a plurality of periodic structures that are electrically connected (e.g. the transmission line circuit is a one period periodic structure identical to the Applicant’s elected species Fig. 1A and [0012] of Applicant’s specification).
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the transmission line includes a microstrip line (e.g. see Col. 5, lines 23-25, the line 43-47 is microstrip).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/15/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that although in Kuroda the conductor lines 43 and 47 have the same width (W43 = W47), they do not have same lengths (L43 > L47). Therefore, the conductor line 47 is not a repetition of the conductor line 43. Accordingly, Kuroda does not teach a periodic structure in which the first line repeats.
Applicant’s arguments are not convincing, especially since the argument that the lengths of L43 and L47 (i.e. the first lines in the Kuroda rejection) are not the same is not commensurate with what is claimed. Claim 1 merely states that the lines are in a periodic structure. The Applicant’s specification indicates that the periodic structure is formed by the combination of the first line 211, the second line 221, the third line 231, the second line 222, and the first line 212 arranged in series and the period can be 1 (e.g. see [0012]). Nothing in the claims require the first lines of the period to be the same length since claim 1 merely requires the period to be formed by the series of lines having different widths, but does not claim that a period formed by the first, second, and third lines must have the first occurrence of the first line be the same length as the second occurrence of the first line. Accordingly, Kuroda properly reads on the claims since the line portions L43 and L47 can be considered first lines because L43 and L47 are of the same/repeated width amongst the different width portions along the full length (i.e. one period) of the device (i.e. since, as compared to the other portions of the device, L43 and L47 have width in common so they can both be considered first lines).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 STEPHEN E JONES whose telephone number is (571)272-1762. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM to 5PM.
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, Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at 571-272-5918. 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.
/Stephen E. Jones/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Prosecution Insights