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 .
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.
Claim 9 is 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.
In Claim 9 (line 5), the phrase “the hole” lacks antecedent basis. Should Claim 9 depend from Claim 7 or Claim 8 instead of Claim 5 since it is Claims 7 and 8 which recite a hole?
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.
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 1-3, 5, 9 and 15-16 (insofar as claim 9 could be understood in view of the 112 issues described above) are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being clearly anticipated by Yoshida (US 2017/0237137 cited by applicant).
Yoshida (e.g. Figs. 9-10) teaches a communications device including:
Regarding Claim 1, a housing (e.g. 37, 38) comprising a common first port (e.g. 51) and a plurality of second ports (e.g. 52 and 53); a plurality of cavity filters for transmitting a wireless signal between the first port and a corresponding one of the second ports (e.g. the row of cavity resonators connected to 52 and the row of cavity resonators connected to 53 and transmission paths for wireless signals, e.g. see [0001] wireless), each of the plurality of cavity filters comprising one or more cavities formed in the housing and a resonator (e.g. 39-50) arranged in each cavity; and a coupler (e.g. 66,67) for coupling the first port to each cavity filter wherein the coupler is arranged in one cavity of each cavity filter and is coupled to the resonator in the one cavity (e.g. in Fig. 10, 67 is in the far right cavity of each cavity filter row and couples to the far right cavity resonators of each filter row).
Regarding Claim 2, wherein the coupler comprises at least one low resistance portion and at least one high resistance portion, and forms a low pass filter (e.g. 66 is a low pass filter, see [0051], having narrow and wide portions thus having low and high resistance portions by the fundamental nature of conductor impedance changes with the width of the conductor).
Regarding Claim 3, wherein the high resistance portion runs through a separator between two adjacent cavity filters (e.g. see Fig. 10, 66, including the high resistance narrow portions, is separated from the adjacent cavities of the cavity filter rows by the walls in the middle of the device).
Regarding Claim 5, wherein the coupler comprises a conductive bar inserted into the one cavity of each cavity filter, an end of which is connected to the first port (e.g. see Fig. 10, 66 is bar shaped and has portion 67 extending into the cavities, and the other end of 66 is connected to the first port 51).
Regarding Claim 9, wherein a coupling bandwidth between the respective cavity filters and the coupler can be adjusted by adjusting the diameter/width or cross section area of the conductive bar at the coupling position of the corresponding resonator and/or the diameter of the hole (e.g. adjusting of dimensions of the Yoshida device would affect bandwidth in the same manner as the present invention, especially since it is structurally the same as the present claimed invention, but also such a limitation is not given patentable weight since only the final product structure is patentable in an apparatus claim and nothing about the diameter/ width in the present invention appears to be adjustable in the final product form).
Regarding claim 15, the communication device is a multiplexer, and the first port is an output port via which filtered wireless signal is output from the communication device (e.g. the Yoshida device has a shared first port and thus can function as a multiplexer or demultiplexer due to its reciprocal nature in that the device filters are capable of signaling in either direction since cavity filters are not uni-directional and thus the limitation is effectively an intended use limitation that does not impart any structural differences from the Yoshida wireless device).
Regarding Claim 16, wherein the communication device is a demultiplexer, and the first port is an input port via which the wireless signal is input into the communication device (e.g. the Yoshida device has a shared first port and thus can function as a multiplexer or demultiplexer due to its reciprocal nature in that the device filters are capable of signaling in either direction since cavity filters are not uni-directional and thus the limitation is effectively an intended use limitation that does not impart and structural differences from the Yoshida wireless device).
Claims 1 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being clearly anticipated by Niiranen (US 2017/0084977 cited by applicant).
Niiranen (e.g. Figs. 1-2) teaches a communications device including:
Regarding Claim 1, a housing (e.g. see [0026]) comprising a common first port (e.g. 106) and a plurality of second ports (e.g. 102, 104); a plurality of cavity filters (a filter having 110-116, and a filter having 140-146) for transmitting a wireless signal (e.g. see [0018, wireless) between the first port and a corresponding one of the second ports, each of the plurality of cavity filters comprising one or more cavities (e.g. the area in the housing around the resonators in each filter forms a cavity) formed in the housing and a resonator (e.g. 110-116 and 140-146) arranged in each cavity; and a coupler (e.g. 130) for coupling the first port to each cavity filter wherein the coupler is arranged in one cavity of each cavity filter and is coupled to the resonator in the one cavity (e.g. 130 extends into the cavities of the filters at resonator 116 and at resonator 140).
Regarding Claim 14, wherein the plurality of cavity filters are sheet metal filters (e.g. see 112 in Fig. 5, metal sheet resonators see [0025]).
Regarding claim 15, the communication device is a multiplexer, and the first port is an output port via which filtered wireless signal is output from the communication device(e.g. the Niiranen device has a shared first port and thus can function as a multiplexer or demultiplexer due to its reciprocal nature in that the device filters are capable of signaling in either direction since cavity filters are not uni-directional and thus the limitation is an intended use limitation that does not impart any structural differences from the Niiranen wireless device).
Regarding Claim 16, wherein the communication device is a demultiplexer, and the first port is an input port via which the wireless signal is input into the communication device(e.g. the Niiranen device has a shared first port and thus can function as a multiplexer or demultiplexer due to its reciprocal nature in that the device filters are capable of signaling in either direction since cavity filters are not uni-directional and thus the limitation is an intended use limitation that does not impart any structural differences from the Niiranen wireless device).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6-8, and 10-13 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.
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.
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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.
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/Stephen E. Jones/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843