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 .
Response to Arguments
This Office Action is in response to the amended application filed on February 27, 2026. The Remarks of February 27, 2026 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows.
The Remarks regarding the objections to the Claims are considered. The respective amendments to the claims are accepted and the objections to these claims are withdrawn.
The Remarks regarding the 112 rejections of the Claims are considered. The respective amendments to the claims are accepted and the 112 rejections of these claims are withdrawn. There are no further 112 rejections to the claims.
The Remarks regarding the 103 rejections of the Claims are considered. The amendment to claim 1 necessitates new ground(s) of rejection based on a new prior art reference. In light of this, the applicant’s arguments regarding the previously cited prior art not teaching or suggesting the limitations of the amended claim 1 are moot.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 (line 23 – the line before the last): “-the portions” should be amended to “the portions”.
Claims 2-18 are included in the objection because of their dependency on claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-18 are 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.
Claim 1 (lines 10-22) recites: “a first portion of the first radiating element and a second portion of the second radiating element overlap in space, …; at least a portion of the first radiating element and at least a portion of the second radiating element face each other; and the portions of the first and second radiating elements that face each other are larger than other portions of the first and second radiating elements that do not face each other.” It is not clear what the difference between the portions of the first radiating element and the second radiating element that overlap and the portions of the first radiating element and the second radiating element that face each other is. According to Fig. 1 in the Drawings the overlapping portions of the first radiating element (11) and the second radiating element (21) are the portions of the respective radiating elements between points A and B. At the same time, the Specification ([0028]), referring to Fig. 1, discloses: “To enable at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling between the first radiating element 11 and the second radiating element 21, the first antenna 10 and the second antenna 20, which are inverted-F antennas, face each other as illustrated in Fig. 1.” As shown in Fig. 1, the portions of the first radiating element (11) and the second radiating element (21) that face each other are, again, exactly the portions of the respective radiating elements between points A and B. Therefore, it appears that the portions of the first radiating element and the second radiating element that overlap are the same as the portions of these elements that face each other. For examination purposes, in view of the Specification, this limitation is interpreted as: “a first portion of the first radiating element and a second portion of the second radiating element overlap in space, …; the first portion of the first radiating element and the second portion of the second radiating element are larger than other portions of the first and second radiating elements that do not overlap.”
Claims 2-18 inherit the indefiniteness of claim 1 and are subsequently rejected, as well.
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, 2-6, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 20180248264 A1, hereinafter Chen) in view of Gu et al. (US 20200044311 A1, hereinafter Gu) and Heikura et al. (US 9973228 B2, hereinafter Heikura).
Regarding claim 1, as best understood, Chen (Figs. 4 and 6) discloses an antenna device (100) comprising:
a first radiating element (17);
a second radiating element (H2) at a position at which at least one of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling to the first radiating element is capable of being generated;
a first feed circuit (F4) to supply a radio frequency signal to the first radiating element; and
a second feed circuit (F2) to supply a radio frequency signal to the second radiating element; wherein
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the first radiating element and the second radiating element are positioned such that a first portion of the first radiating element and a second portion of the second radiating element overlap in space (regarding the first potion of the first radiating element and the second portion of the second radiating element overlapping in space, see annotated Fig. 4 in Chen below), and at least one of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling between the first portion and the second portion is generated (inherent), wherein the generated electric field coupling is maximum at a resonance frequency of the first radiating element or the second radiating element (inherent).
Chen does not disclose a frequency adjustment element connected to the first radiating element or the second radiating element.
Gu (Figs. 2-3; [0036, 0038]) teaches a frequency adjustment element (800 in Fig. 3) connected to a radiating element (103 in Fig. 2).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen by adding a frequency adjustment element connected to the first radiating element or the second radiating element as taught by Gu. This modification would provide means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
The modified Chen does not teach the limitation wherein at least a portion of the first radiating element and at least a portion of the second radiating element face each other; and the portions of the first and second radiating elements that face each other are larger than other portions of the first and second radiating elements that do not face each other.
Heikura (Fig. 1D) teaches at least a portion of a first radiating element (102b) and at least a portion of a second radiating element (104) face each other; and the portions of the first and second radiating elements that face each other are larger than other portions of the first and second radiating elements that do not face each other.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that at least a portion of the first radiating element and at least a portion of the second radiating element face each other; and the portions of the first and second radiating elements that face each other are larger than other portions of the first and second radiating elements that do not face each other as taught by Heikura. This modification would provide an antenna device with a broader impedance bandwidth (see Heikura, p. 7, lines 12-16).
Regarding claim 2, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are positioned such that the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the first portion of the first radiating element to a portion of the second radiating element other than the second portion is generated and the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the second portion of the second radiating element to a portion of the first radiating element other than the first portion is generated.
However, Chen (Figs. 4 and 6; [0042, 0058]) teaches a first radiating element (17) and a second radiating element (H2), having a first portion and a second portions, respectively (see annotated Fig. 4 in Chen above), that overlap; wherein the first radiating element (17) operates in a first frequency band (see [0058]) and the second radiating element (H2) operates in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band (see [0042]). Further, the Specification of the current invention ([0035]) discloses: “By the coupling between the first antenna 10 and the second antenna 20, the antenna device 100 has two operating frequency bands, that is, for example, a frequency band having the center frequency at approximately 3.1 GHz and a frequency band having the center frequency at approximately 4.1 GHz, as illustrated in Fig. 3.” It is well-known in the art, that for radiating elements operating in different frequency bands at least one of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling can be generated between different overlapping portions of the two radiating elements in one frequency band vs. another frequency band. Furthermore, it is well-known in the art, that by adjusting the relative positions of the open ends of the radiating elements and the gap between the overlapping portions, the locations of the overlapping portions corresponding to the different frequencies of operation can be changed, which can be used for improving the impedance matching of the radiating elements at their respective frequencies of operation or the resonance frequencies of the radiating elements can be changed to the respective desired frequencies of operation.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the first radiating element and the second radiating element are positioned such that the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the first portion of the first radiating element to a portion of the second radiating element other than the second portion is generated and the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the second portion of the second radiating element to a portion of the first radiating element other than the first portion is generated. This modification would provide an antenna device with radiating elements having improved impedance matching of the radiating elements at their respective frequencies of operation or, alternatively, would allow changing the tuning of the radiating elements so that the desired respective frequencies of operation are achieved.
Regarding claim 3, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4; [0042], lines 1-4 and [0058], lines 1-6) further teaches:
the first radiating element (17) and the first feed circuit (F4) define a first antenna (see [0058], lines 1-6);
the first antenna is an inverted-F antenna (see [0058], lines 1-6);
the second radiating element (H2) and the second feed circuit (F2) define a second antenna (see [0042], lines 1-4); and
the second antenna is a monopole antenna (see [0042], lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 4, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4; [0042], lines 1-4 and [0058], lines 1-6) further teaches when one of the first antenna and the second antenna is a monopole antenna and the other of the first antenna and the second antenna is an inverted-F antenna, the first radiating element (17) and the second radiating element (H2) are positioned such that an open end of the first radiating element and an open end of the second radiating element are opposite in orientation.
Regarding claim 5, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4) further teaches the first radiating element (17) and the second radiating element (H) are parallel to each other.
Regarding claim 6, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are inverted-F antennas.
However, Chen (Fig. 4, [0040]) teaches other inverted-F antennas (H11, F1, and G1; H12, F1, and G2).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen by replacing the second antenna with an inverted-F antenna. This modification would achieve the predictable result wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are inverted-F antennas. Further, this modification would activate a different operation mode for generating radiation signals in a different frequency band (see [0040]).
Regarding claim 8, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the frequency adjustment element includes a plurality of elements that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements.
Gu (Fig. 3, [0038]) teaches the frequency adjustment element (800) includes a plurality of elements (810, 820, 830) that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements (regarding the switch, see annotated Fig. 3 in Gu below).
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It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the frequency adjustment element includes a plurality of elements that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements. This modification would provide means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
Regarding claim 9, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the plurality of elements include at least one coil, at least one capacitor, and at least one wiring line.
Gu (Fig. 3, [0038]) teaches the plurality of elements include at least one coil (820), at least one capacitor (810), and at least one wiring line (830).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the plurality of elements include at least one coil, at least one capacitor, and at least one wiring line. This modification would provide means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Chen as applied to claim 3 in view of Abdul-Gaffoor et al. (US 20140141731 A1, hereinafter Abdul-Gaffoor).
Regarding claim 7, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 3 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are loop antennas.
Abdul-Gaffoor (Fig. 3B, [0046-0048]) teaches two antennas (310, 320) located within the same space, wherein one of the two antennas (320) is a loop antenna (see [0044], lines 6-8), and a third antenna (332) which is also a loop antenna.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that both of the first antenna and the second antenna are loop antennas as taught by Abdul-Gaffoor. This modification would provide an antenna device that can support both simultaneous voice and data transmission (e.g., SVLTE) and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication (see Abdul-Gaffoor, [0046], lines 9-12).
Claims 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the modified Chen as applied to claim 1 in view of Abdul-Gaffoor (cited above).
Regarding claim 10, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the antenna device of claim 1 as addressed above.
Chen (Figs. 2 and 4) further teaches a communication apparatus (200 in Fig. 2) comprising an antenna device (100 in Fig. 4).
Chen does not explicitly teach a communication apparatus comprising the antenna device according to Claim 1.
However, the modified Chen as applied to claim 1 teaches the antenna device of claim 1.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen to achieve the predictable result of a communication apparatus comprising the antenna device according to Claim 1. This modification would provide an antenna device with the means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element due to the modification as taught by Gu (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach a semiconductor IC connected to the first feed circuit and the second feed circuit included in the antenna device.
Abdul-Gaffoor (Fig. 3B, [0049]) teaches a semiconductor IC (not shown in Fig. 3B – see [0049], lines 9-12; regarding the semiconductor IC, it is well-known in the art that a communication circuit may be a semiconductor IC) connected to a first feed circuit (308) and a second feed circuit (322) included in an antenna device (350).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that a semiconductor IC connected to the first feed circuit and the second feed circuit is included in the antenna device. This modification would provide a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna arrangement in a wireless communication device (see Abdul-Gaffoor, [0019], lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 11, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 10 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the first radiating element and the second radiating element are positioned such that the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the first portion of the first radiating element to a portion of the second radiating element other than the second portion is generated and the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the second portion of the second radiating element to a portion of the first radiating element other than the first portion is generated.
However, Chen (Figs. 4 and 6; [0042, 0058]) teaches a first radiating element (17) and a second radiating element (H2), having a first portion and a second portions, respectively (see annotated Fig. 4 in Chen above), that overlap; wherein the first radiating element (17) operates in a first frequency band (see [0058]) and the second radiating element (H2) operates in a second frequency band different from the first frequency band (see [0042]). Further, the Specification of the current invention ([0035]) discloses: “By the coupling between the first antenna 10 and the second antenna 20, the antenna device 100 has two operating frequency bands, that is, for example, a frequency band having the center frequency at approximately 3.1 GHz and a frequency band having the center frequency at approximately 4.1 GHz, as illustrated in Fig. 3.” It is well-known in the art, that for radiating elements operating in different frequency bands at least one of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling can be generated between different overlapping portions of the two radiating elements in one frequency band vs. another frequency band. Furthermore, it is well-known in the art, that by adjusting the relative positions of the open ends of the radiating elements and the gap between the overlapping portions, the locations of the overlapping portions corresponding to the different frequencies of operation can be changed, which can be used for improving the impedance matching of the radiating elements at their respective frequencies of operation or the resonance frequencies of the radiating elements can be changed to the respective desired frequencies of operation.
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the first radiating element and the second radiating element are positioned such that the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the first portion of the first radiating element to a portion of the second radiating element other than the second portion is generated and the at least one of the electric field coupling and the magnetic field coupling of the second portion of the second radiating element to a portion of the first radiating element other than the first portion is generated. This modification would provide an antenna device with radiating elements having improved impedance matching of the radiating elements at their respective frequencies of operation or, alternatively, would allow changing the tuning of the radiating elements so that the desired respective frequencies of operation are achieved.
Regarding claim 12, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 10 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4; [0042], lines 1-4 and [0058], lines 1-6) further teaches:
the first radiating element (17) and the first feed circuit (F4) define a first antenna (see [0058], lines 1-6);
the first antenna is an inverted-F antenna (see [0058], lines 1-6);
the second radiating element (H2) and the second feed circuit (F2) define a second antenna (see [0042], lines 1-4); and
the second antenna is a monopole antenna (see [0042], lines 1-4).
Regarding claim 13, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 12 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4; [0042], lines 1-4 and [0058], lines 1-6) further teaches when one of the first antenna and the second antenna is a monopole antenna and the other of the first antenna and the second antenna is an inverted-F antenna, the first radiating element (17) and the second radiating element (H2) are positioned such that an open end of the first radiating element and an open end of the second radiating element are opposite in orientation.
Regarding claim 14, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 10 as addressed above.
The modified Chen (Fig. 4) further teaches the first radiating element (17) and the second radiating element (H2) are parallel to each other.
Regarding claim 15, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 12 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are inverted-F antennas.
However, Chen (Fig. 4, [0040]) teaches other inverted-F antennas (H11, F1, and G1; H12, F1, and G2).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen by replacing the second antenna with an inverted-F antenna. This modification would achieve the predictable result wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are inverted-F antennas. Further, this modification would activate a different operation mode for generating radiation signals in a different frequency band (see [0040]).
Regarding claim 16, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 12 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein both of the first antenna and the second antenna are loop antennas.
Abdul-Gaffoor (Fig. 3B, [0046-0048]) teaches two antennas (310, 320) located within the same space, wherein one of the two antennas (320) is a loop antenna (see [0044], lines 6-8), and a third antenna (332) which is also a loop antenna.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the first antenna and the second antenna are the loop antenna. This modification would provide an antenna device that can support both simultaneous voice and data transmission (e.g., SVLTE) and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication (see Abdul-Gaffoor, [0046], lines 9-12).
Regarding claim 17, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 10 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the frequency adjustment element includes a plurality of elements that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements.
Gu (Fig. 3, [0038]) teaches the frequency adjustment element (800) includes a plurality of elements (810, 820, 830) that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements (regarding the switch, see annotated Fig. 3 in Gu above).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the frequency adjustment element includes a plurality of elements that are grounded and a switch electrically connected to one of the plurality of elements. This modification would provide means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
Regarding claim 18, as best understood, the modified Chen teaches the communication apparatus of claim 17 as addressed above.
The modified Chen does not explicitly teach the limitation wherein the plurality of elements include at least one coil, at least one capacitor, and at least one wiring line.
Gu (Fig. 3, [0038]) teaches the plurality of elements include at least one coil (820), at least one capacitor (810), and at least one wiring line (830).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Chen so that the plurality of elements include at least one coil, at least one capacitor, and at least one wiring line. This modification would provide means for adjusting the return loss and the efficiency at the operating frequency band(s) of the radiating element connected to the frequency adjustment element (see Gu, [0038], Figs. 8-9).
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 MARIN STOYTCHEV STOYTCHEV whose telephone number is (571)272-3467. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 8:00-17:00.
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/MARIN STOYTCHEV STOYTCHEV/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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