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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-8 and 10-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Voss et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8654017), hereinafter known as Voss, in view of Alpman et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20200091608), hereinafter known as Alpman.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Voss teaches (Figs. 1-17) a printed circuit board ("PCB") (105, 421 in Fig. 6) having a first side and a second side opposing the first side (see Fig. 6);a thermal interface plate (1010) arranged generally parallel to the PCB (see Fig. 10B); a plurality of radiating elements (102) mounted to the first side of the PCB (see Fig. 1); an radio frequency ("RF") chain (325, 330, 350, see Fig. 6) mounted to the second side of the PCB and to the thermal interface plate, each respective one of the plurality of RF chains coupled to and located proximate to a respective one of the plurality of patch radiating elements and thermally coupled to the thermal interface plate (see Fig. 10B); and a plurality of beamforming circuits (340) mounted to the second side of the PCB (see Fig. 6), wherein each of the RF chains is connected to at least one of the plurality of beamforming circuits (see Fig. 6).
Alpman teaches a printed circuit board ("PCB") (see Figs. 428-430B); a plurality of radio frequency ("RF") chains (see Figs. 428-430B) mounted to the PCB.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use the RF chains of Alpman in the antenna apparatus of Voxx since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to employ/use a known technique to improve similar devices (methods, products) in the same way is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) Utilizing multiple RF chains for the antenna elements allows for individual control over antenna transmission characteristics.
Regarding claim 2, Voss as modified teaches the limitations of claim 1, and Alpman further teaches (Figs. 428-430B) wherein the RF chains are arranged in a plurality of stacks, each respective one of the plurality of stacks mounted to the second side of the PCB and extending generally perpendicular to the second side of the PCB (see Figs. 428-430B).
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Voss further teaches (Figs. 1-17) wherein the radiating elements are patch radiating elements (part of layer 480, see Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 4, Voss further teaches (Figs. 1-17) wherein the PCB includes one or more copper radiation shielding layers (487) embedded in the PCB and positioned to shield electrical, electronic, or electromechanical components of the DRA antenna from radiation.
Regarding claim 5, Voss further teaches (Figs. 1-17) wherein the thermal interface plate includes a plurality of fluidic channels (1301).
Regarding claim 6, Voss further teaches (Figs. 1-17) wherein the thermal interface plate acts as the only thermal spreader and conductive and radiative exchange interface of the DRA antenna with a mobile or stationary structure when mounted on the mobile or stationary structure (see Fig. 10B).
Regarding claims 7 and 8, Voss as modified teaches the limitations of claim 6, but does no teach further details of the mobile structure.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the antenna apparatus of Voss on a spacecraft, such as a low earth orbit satellite, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) The antenna apparatus of Voss is designed for aircraft, and similar structural and functional considerations are necessary for both, and a skilled artisan would consider them analogous.
Regarding claims 12 and 14, Voss as modified teaches the limitations of claim 6, but does no teach further details of beamforming.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use digital beamforming for the antenna apparatus of Voss since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to employ/use a known technique to improve similar devices (methods, products) in the same way is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) Digital beamforming provides fast control over multiple antenna elements for beamforming.
Regarding claims 13 and 15, Voss as modified teaches the limitations of claim 6, but does no teach further details of beamforming.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use analog beamforming for the antenna apparatus of Voss since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to employ/use a known technique to improve similar devices (methods, products) in the same way is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) Analog beamforming provides precise control over multiple antenna elements for beamforming.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is 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 does not teach or render obvious claim 9 as arranged, specifically “wherein each of the plurality of stacks is connected to the thermal interface via one or more thermal interface materials.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yetisir (U.S. Patent Application No. 20220352636) teaches a stack patch antenna array.
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/DANIEL MUNOZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896