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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-11 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-8 of U.S. Patent No. 12,107,568 in view of Tanaka (US 2009/0322444).
In regard to Claims 1 and 2:
18/817,632
US 12,107,568
Claim 1:
A filter circuit comprising: a resonator circuit having a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a single chip; and a composite resonator circuit comprising a capacitor connected in parallel with the first acoustic resonator and the second acoustic resonator on the single chip, wherein each of the first and second acoustic resonators comprises: a substrate; a piezoelectric layer having a first portion supported by the substrate and a second portion that is over a cavity; and an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a surface of the piezoelectric layer, the IDT including interleaved fingers on the second portion of the piezoelectric layer that is over the cavity, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of the interleaved fingers, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially same resonance frequency, anti-resonance frequency, and static capacitance.
Claim 2:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise the same substrate and the same piezoelectric layer.
Claim 1:
A filter circuit, comprising: a cascaded resonator circuit having a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a single chip, wherein admittances as functions of frequency of the first and second acoustic resonators are substantially identical; and a composite resonator circuit comprising a capacitor connected in parallel with the second acoustic resonator on the single chip, wherein the capacitor improves a steepness of an upper bandpass edge of the filter circuit, wherein each of the first and second acoustic resonators comprises: a substrate; a piezoelectric layer having a first portion supported by the substrate and a second portion that is over a cavity; and an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a surface of the piezoelectric layer, the IDT including interleaved IDT fingers on the second portion of the piezoelectric layer that is over the cavity, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise the same substrate and the same piezoelectric layer, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of the interleaved IDT fingers, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially same resonance frequency, anti-resonance frequency, and static capacitance.
However, Claim 1 of Raihn (US 12,107,568) does not include a capacitor connected in parallel with the first acoustic resonator and the second acoustic resonator.
Tanaka discloses, in Figure 1, a capacitor (C1) connected in parallel with the first acoustic resonator (S2a) and the second acoustic resonator (S2b, Paragraph 0031).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to use the capacitor connected in parallel with the first and second resonators taught by Tanaka with the filter device taught by Raihn, in order to sufficiently increase the attenuation outside of the passband, as well as, reducing the size of the inductor effectively reducing the overall size of the resonator device (Tanaka Paragraph 0013).
In regard to Claims 3-11:
18/817,632
US 12,107,568
Claim 3:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitor is connected between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator.
Claim 4:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitor is at a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator.
Claim 5:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators are one of surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators or transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonators (XBARs).
Claim 2:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitor is connected one of: between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator; or between a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator; and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators are one of surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators or transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonators (XBARs).
Claim 6:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitor comprises conductor traces on the single chip having the first and second acoustic resonators.
Claim 3:
The filter circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitor comprises conductor traces on the single chip having the first and second acoustic resonators.
Claim 7:
The filter circuit of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of series resonators connected in series between a first port and a second port, the plurality of series resonators including a first series resonator and a second series resonator connected at a node; and a plurality of shunt resonators including a first shunt resonator coupled between the node and a ground, wherein the resonator circuit and the composite resonator circuit are the second series resonator.
Claim 4:
The filter circuit of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of series resonators connected in series between a first port and a second port, the plurality of series resonators including a first series resonator and a second series resonator connected at a node; and a plurality of shunt resonators including a first shunt resonator coupled between the node and a ground; wherein the cascaded resonator circuit and the composite resonator are the second series resonator.
Claim 8:
The filter circuit of claim 7, wherein the plurality of series resonators are 8 series resonators, the plurality of shunt resonators are 8 shunt resonators, and the resonator circuit and the composite resonator are a sixth one of the 8 series resonators.
Claim 5:
The filter circuit of claim 4, wherein the plurality of series resonators are 8 series resonators, the plurality of shunt resonators are 8 shunt resonators, and the cascaded resonator circuit and the composite resonator are a sixth one of the 8 series resonators.
Claim 9:
The filter circuit of claim 7, wherein the composite resonator circuit is configured to provide a steeper transition from a resonance frequency of the filter circuit to an anti-resonance frequency of the filter circuit which translates to a steeper filter skirt of the filter circuit.
Claim 6:
The filter circuit of claim 4, wherein the composite resonator circuit creates a steeper transition from a resonance frequency of the filter circuit to an anti-resonance frequency of the filter circuit which translates to a steeper filter skirt of the filter circuit.
Claim 10:
The filter circuit of claim 7, wherein the resonator circuit comprises the first and second acoustic resonators in series to pass passband frequencies of the filter circuit.
Claim 7:
The filter circuit of claim 4, wherein the cascaded resonator circuit comprises the first and second acoustic resonators in series to pass passband frequencies of the filter circuit.
Claim 11:
The filter circuit of claim 7, wherein the composite resonator circuit is configured to reduce an anti-resonance frequency and to steepen a filter skirt of the filter circuit.
Claim 8:
The filter circuit of claim 4, wherein the composite resonator circuit reduces an anti-resonance frequency and steepens a filter skirt of the filter circuit.
Claims 12-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 9-11 and 13-15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,107,568. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following:
Application 18/817,632
US 12,107,568
Claim 12:
A filter circuit comprising: a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a substrate and having respective transfer functions, wherein each of the first and second acoustic resonators includes an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a piezoelectric layer, such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on a diaphragm of the piezoelectric layer that is over a cavity; and a capacitor connected in parallel with the second acoustic resonator on the substrate, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of the interleaved fingers, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially same resonance frequency, anti-resonance frequency, and static capacitance.
Claim 13:
The filter circuit of claim 12, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise the same piezoelectric layer.
Claim 9:
A filter circuit, comprising: a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a substrate and having respective transfer functions, wherein admittances as functions of frequency of the first and second acoustic resonators are substantially identical, wherein each of the first and second acoustic resonators includes an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a piezoelectric layer, such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on a diaphragm of the piezoelectric layer that is over a cavity, the IDT configured to excite a primary acoustic mode in the diaphragm in response to a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT; and a capacitor connected in parallel with the second acoustic resonator on the substrate, wherein the capacitor improves a steepness of a lower slope of an upper bandpass edge of the filter circuit wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise the same piezoelectric layer, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of the interleaved fingers, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially same resonance frequency, anti-resonance frequency, and static capacitance.
Claim 14:
The filter circuit of claim 12, wherein the capacitor is connected between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator.
Claim 15:
The filter circuit of claim 12, wherein the capacitor is at a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator.
Claim 10:
The filter circuit of claim 9, wherein the capacitor is connected one of: between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator; or between a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator; and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators are one of surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators or transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonators (XBARs).
Claim 17:
A filter circuit comprising: a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a substrate; a capacitor connected in parallel with the second acoustic resonator on the substrate; a plurality of series resonators connected in series between a first port and a second port, the plurality of series resonators including a first series resonator and a second series resonator connected at a node; and a plurality of shunt resonators including a first shunt resonator coupled between the node and a ground, wherein the second series resonator includes the first acoustic resonator and the second acoustic resonator, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of interleaved fingers of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of the first and second acoustic resonators.
Claim 20:
The filter circuit of claim 17, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise a same substrate and a same piezoelectric layer.
Claim 13:
A filter circuit, comprising: a first acoustic resonator and a second acoustic resonator connected in series on a substrate, wherein admittances as functions of frequency of the first and second acoustic resonators are substantially identical; and a capacitor connected in parallel with the second acoustic resonator on the substrate, wherein the capacitor improves rejection and decreases degradation of a lower slope of an upper bandpass edge of the filter circuit; a plurality of series resonators connected in series between a first port and a second port, the plurality of series resonators including a first series resonator and a second series resonator connected at a node; and a plurality of shunt resonators including a first shunt resonator coupled between the node and a ground, wherein the second series resonator is a cascaded resonator circuit that includes the first acoustic resonator and the second acoustic resonator, wherein the first and second acoustic resonators comprise a same substrate and a same piezoelectric layer, and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators have a substantially identical sized cavity, a substantially identical thickness and a substantially identical pitch of interleaved fingers of respective interdigital transducers (IDTs) of the first and second acoustic resonators.
Claim 18:
The filter circuit of claim 17, wherein the capacitor is connected either between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator; or at a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator.
Claim 14
The filter circuit of claim 13, wherein the capacitor is connected one of: between an input and an output of the second acoustic resonator; or between a junction between the first and second acoustic resonators and an input of a third resonator; and wherein the first and second acoustic resonators are one of surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators or transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonators (XBARs).
Claim 19:
The filter circuit of claim 17, wherein the capacitor comprises conductor traces on the substrate having the first and second acoustic resonators.
Claim 15:
The filter circuit of claim 13, wherein the capacitor comprises conductor traces on the substrate having the first and second acoustic resonators.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Plesski et al. (US 10,491,192) discloses an acoustic resonator includes a substrate and a piezoelectric plate having parallel front and back surfaces, the back surface attached to the substrate. An interdigital transducer (IDT) is formed on the front surface of the piezoelectric plate such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on a portion of the piezoelectric plate suspended over a cavity formed in the substrate.
David et al. (US 2016/0094199) discloses a resonant circuit comprises an input terminal and an output terminal and at least: a group of N resonators, where N≧1, the resonators having the same resonance frequency and the same antiresonance frequency; a first and a second impedance matching element having a non-zero reactance, the first element being in series with the group of resonators, and the second element being in parallel with the group of resonators, the resonant circuit comprising: first means for controlling the group of resonators, enabling the static capacitance of the group to be fixed at a first value; second control means, enabling the impedance of the first impedance matching element and that of the second element to be fixed at second values; the first and second values being such that the triplet of values composed of the static capacitance of the group, the impedance of the first element, and the impedance of the second element can be used to determine the following triplet of parameters: the characteristic impedance Z.sub.c of the assembly formed by the group, the first impedance matching element and the second matching element; the resonance frequency ω.sub.r of the assembly; the antiresonance frequency ω.sub.a of the assembly, in order to stabilize the impedance of the circuit at a chosen characteristic impedance.
Dyer et al. (US 2021/0013860) discloses an acoustic filter device includes a substrate having a surface and a single-crystal piezoelectric plate having front and back surfaces, the back surface attached to the surface of the substrate except for a portion of the piezoelectric plate forming a diaphragm that spans a cavity in the substrate. An interdigital transducer is formed on the front surface of the piezoelectric plate with interleaved fingers of the IDT disposed on the diaphragm. At least a portion of a perimeter of the cavity is curved.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John W Poos whose telephone number is (571)270-5077. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8-5.
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/JOHN W POOS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896