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 .
The information disclosure statements filed 8/8/2024 and 3/17/2025 have entered. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6-7, 9-10, 12, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (2) as being anticipated by We et al. (We et al. – 2023/0083146; herein after referred to as “We”).
Regarding claim 1, We discloses an antenna package structure, comprising:
a substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0024, 0040; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner);
an antenna tuner disposed on a top surface of the substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0024, 0040; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner);
a communication device disposed on a bottom surface of the substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0024, 0040; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device); and
an antenna layer vertically overlapping the antenna tuner and comprising: a dielectric layer (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F ); and
an antenna element disposed in the dielectric layer and electrically coupled to the substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F).
Regarding claim 3, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a metal layer disposed on a bottom surface of the dielectric layer and vertically overlapping the antenna tuner (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128) .
Regarding claim 6, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer is separated from the antenna tuner (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128).
Regarding claim 7, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 6, further comprising: an encapsulating material surrounding the antenna tuner and spacing the antenna tuner away from the dielectric layer (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128).
Regarding claim 9, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a connector or a conductive terminal disposed on the bottom surface of the substrate and electrically coupled to the substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128; the metal interconnects 126).
Regarding claim 10, We discloses an antenna package structure, comprising: a substrate; an antenna tuner disposed over the substrate; a communication device disposed below the substrate; and an antenna layer disposed over and separated from the antenna tuner, wherein the antenna layer comprises: a plurality of dielectric layers; and a plurality of antenna elements disposed in the dielectric layers and electrically coupled to the substrate (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128; the metal interconnects 126).
Regarding claim 12, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: a molding material surrounding each of the dielectric layers (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128; the metal interconnects 126, package mold 120).
Regarding claim 16, We discloses the antenna package structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising: a connector or a conductive terminal adjacent to the communication device (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128; the metal interconnects 126, package mold 120).
Regarding claim 17, We discloses an antenna package structure, comprising: a substrate; an antenna tuner disposed on a top surface of the substrate; a molding material surrounding the antenna tuner; and a main radiator disposed over the molding material and coupled to the substrate, wherein the main radiator partially overlaps the antenna tuner (We; Fig. 1A-1C, 5A-5E, 6, 8A-8C; par. 0022-0030, 0040, 0072 -0085; package substrate 108, antenna 102(1) – 101(4), 102(3) and 102(4) on the first side of the package, 104(1) and 104(2), the antenna may be integrated in a tuner, a mobile device, a radio, a smart phone which are considered as the claimed communication device, the first dielectric layer 134 and the second dielectric layer 136, antenna layer 110F, metalization layers 128; the metal interconnects 126, package mold 120).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-5, 8, 11, 13-15, 18-20 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: the prior art fails to disclose the
i. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a grounding layer disposed in the substrate (claim 2).
ii. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a grounding layer disposed in the dielectric layer (claim 4).
iii. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a shielding layer extending on sidewalls of the substrate and the antenna layer (claim 5).
iv. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna tuner is disposed in a recess of the dielectric layer (claim 8).
v. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the antenna tuner is disposed between two of the antenna elements and partially covered by the antenna elements (claim 11).
vi. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dielectric layers have different thicknesses and/or lengths (claim 13).
vii. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of the antenna elements comprises: an antenna feeding component; and a main radiator disposed over the antenna feeding component (claim 14; claim 15 depends on claim 14).
viii. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 17, further comprising: an antenna feeding component directly below the main radiator, wherein the antenna feeding component and the antenna tuner are spaced apart by the molding material (claim 18, claim 19 depends on claim 18).
ix. The antenna package structure as claimed in claim 17, wherein the antenna feeding component comprises a coupling slot formed on the top surface of the substrate, so that the main radiator is coupled to the substrate by using a technique of slot-coupled feed (claim 20).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN MINH LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2396. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-5:00 PM M-Th..
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/THIEN M LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876