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
Applicant's arguments filed 05/29/2026 directed towards the amended claims have been fully considered but they are not moot in view of the grounds of rejection provided herein.
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(s) 1-4, 7-10, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over US 20230187803 A1 (hereinafter “Takemoto”).
Claim 1: Takemoto teaches a transmission device for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, comprising: a first transmission member (e.g., see 90 in FIG. 13-14) having a first transmission path (e.g., through 91); and a second transmission member (e.g., see 80) having a second transmission path (e.g., through opening in 80), wherein the first transmission path is a passage that has an opening on one surface of the first transmission member (e.g., see 90a), the first transmission member and the second transmission member are disposed in such a manner that the second transmission path faces the one surface of the first transmission member with a gap (e.g., see gap g) between the second transmission member and the one surface of the first transmission member (e.g., as shown), and the first transmission member has at least one recessed portion (e.g., see 92-1, 92-2, 92-3) that has an opening at a location away from the first transmission path on the one surface (e.g., as shown), the opening of the first transmission path has a shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other (e.g., as shown), the opening of the first transmission path has a shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other, the at least one recessed portion includes a first recessed portion (e.g., see 92-1) and a second recessed portion (e.g., see 92-2, 92-3) formed on one side with respect to the first transmission path in the lateral direction, the first recessed portion is located closer to the first transmission path than the second recessed portion in the lateral direction, and the second recessed portion is located further away from the first transmission path than the first recessed portion in the lateral direction (e.g., as shown), and a width of the second recessed portion in the longitudinal direction is greater than a width of the first recessed portion in the longitudinal direction (e.g., as shown).
Alternatively under 35 U.S.C. 103:
Claim 1: Takemoto teaches a transmission device for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, comprising: a first transmission member (e.g., see 20 in FIG. 1) having a first transmission path (e.g., through 21); and a second transmission member (e.g., see 10) having a second transmission path (e.g., through 11), wherein the first transmission path is a passage that has an opening on one surface of the first transmission member (e.g., see 20a), the first transmission member and the second transmission member are disposed in such a manner that the second transmission path faces the one surface of the first transmission member with a gap (e.g., see gap g in FIG. 4) between the second transmission member and the one surface of the first transmission member (e.g., as shown), and the first transmission member has at least one recessed portion (e.g., see 25 and/or 25a-25d in FIGS 1-4) that has an opening at a location away from the first transmission path on the one surface (e.g., as shown), the opening of the first transmission path has a shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other (e.g., as shown).
Takemoto, in the same embodiment, may not explicitly teach the at least one recessed portion includes a first recessed portion and a second recessed portion formed on one side with respect to the first transmission path in the lateral direction, the first recessed portion is located closer to the first transmission path than the second recessed portion in the lateral direction, and the second recessed portion is located further away from the first transmission path than the first recessed portion in the lateral direction, and a width of the second recessed portion in the longitudinal direction is greater than a width of the first recessed portion in the longitudinal direction.
However, in another embodiment, Takemoto teaches the opening of the first transmission path (e.g., see 91 in FIGS. 13-14) has a shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other, the at least one recessed portion includes a first recessed portion (e.g., see 92-1) and a second recessed portion (e.g., see 92-2, 92-3) formed on one side with respect to the first transmission path in the lateral direction, the first recessed portion is located closer to the first transmission path than the second recessed portion in the lateral direction, and the second recessed portion is located further away from the first transmission path than the first recessed portion in the lateral direction (e.g., as shown), and a width of the second recessed portion in the longitudinal direction is greater than a width of the first recessed portion in the longitudinal direction (e.g., as shown).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a skilled artisan to form the recessed portion of Takemoto such that the at least one recessed portion includes a first recessed portion and a second recessed portion formed on one side with respect to the first transmission path in the lateral direction, the first recessed portion is located closer to the first transmission path than the second recessed portion in the lateral direction, and the second recessed portion is located further away from the first transmission path than the first recessed portion in the lateral direction, and a width of the second recessed portion in the longitudinal direction is greater than a width of the first recessed portion in the longitudinal direction as taught in order to further prevent leakage of the electromagnetic waves from the waveguide opening as is known (e.g., see Para. 3).
Claim 2: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission path is configured to transmit the electromagnetic wave in a fundamental mode (e.g., wherein the waveguide inherently propagates at fundamental mode especially with no higher modes disclosed, also see MPEP §§ 2112.01, 2114).
Claim 3: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recessed portion has a shape extending along equiphase surfaces of an electric field spreading from the first transmission path as a center (e.g., see Para. 44, 57-59).
Claim 4: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recessed portion includes two recessed portions (e.g., 92-1 to 92-3 in FIGS. 13-14 or see 25a-25b in FIGS. 3A-3B or 25c-25d in FIG. 3B) respectively disposed on both sides with respect to the first transmission path.
Claim 7: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recessed portion has a predetermined depth in a normal direction of the one surface (e.g., see depth of 92-1 to 92-3 being quarter wavelength in Para. 5 or see depth of 25c, 25d shown in FIG. 4 being a quarter wavelength).
Claim 8: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein a depth of the at least one recessed portion is set to be equal to or greater than λ/4+N·λ/2 and equal to or less than (N+1)λ/2, where λ is a wavelength of the electromagnetic wave transmitted by the first transmission path, and N is an integer equal to or greater than 0 (e.g., wherein Takemoto teaches 25, 25a-d is in a range of 0.2 to 0.3 wavelength, see Para. 42, which falls within the range of 0.25 to 0.5 wavelength for N=0; further Takemoto teaches 92-1 to 92-3 are .25, see Para. 5).
Claim 9: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 8, wherein the depth of the at least one recessed portion is set to λ/4+N·λ/2 (e.g., wherein Takemoto teaches the depth of 92-1 to 92-3 is .25 wavelength for N=0, see Para. 5, or see 25, 25a-d, is .25 wavelength for N=0).
Claim 10: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the at least one recessed portion (e.g., see 92-1 to 92-3 or see 25a, 25b) has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a straight line that passes through a center of the opening of the first transmission path and is parallel to the lateral direction (e.g., as shown).
Claim 14: Takemoto teaches the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein each of the first recessed portion and the second recessed portion has an opening having an arc shape (e.g., 25a-d being arc shape as shown), however Takemoto does not explicitly teach, in the same embodiment, the second recessed portion surrounds the first recessed portion from the one side in the lateral direction.
Nonetheless, Takemoto teaches in another embodiment, the second recess portion surrounds the first recessed portion from the one side in the lateral direction (e.g., see 92-1 to 92-3 in FIGS. 13-14).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a skilled artisan to further form an additional recessed portion surrounds the first recessed portions of the FIGS. 3 embodiment of Takemoto as taught by the FIGS. 13 embodiment in order to further reduce the waveguide leakage of electromagnetic waves in the lateral direction as suggested by Takemoto (e.g., in Para. 3).
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20220359967 A1 (hereinafter “Vosoogh”).
Claim 11: Vosoogh teaches a transmission device (e.g., see 1 in FIGS. 1-4 or FIGS. 7-8) for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, comprising: a first transmission member (e.g., see 2a-2n) having a first transmission path (e.g., see transmission path through 77, 78); and a second transmission member (e.g., see 2a-2n) having a second transmission path (e.g., through 77, 78), wherein the first transmission path is a passage that has an opening on one surface of the first transmission member, the first transmission member and the second transmission member are disposed in such a manner that the second transmission path faces the one surface of the first transmission member with a gap between (e.g., see gaps between layer 2a-2n with 3 thereon in FIG. 4, 8) the second transmission member and the one surface of the first transmission member, and the first transmission member has at least one recessed portion (e.g., see 3) that has an opening at a location away from the first transmission path on the one surface (e.g., on surface of one of 2a-2n), the opening of the at least one recessed portion is shaped as an arc (e.g., as shown), and a center of the arc that forms the opening of the at least one recessed portion is located at a position away from the opening of the first transmission path on the one surface (e.g., centers of arcs not being 77, 78 as shown).
Claim 12: Vosoogh teaches the transmission device according to claim 11, wherein the opening of the first transmission path has a shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other (e.g., see 77, 78 as shown), and the center of the arc that forms the opening of the at least one recessed portion is located on a straight line that passes through a center of the opening of the first transmission path and is parallel to the lateral direction (e.g., see center of arc 3 having line passing through center of 77 as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 7).
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.
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/AMAL PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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