DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
Figures 4A-4D should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1, 4-8, 10-16 and 19-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Leitermann et al (US 2020/161742 A1) in view of Clemens (5,103,235) [both cited by applicant].
Leitermann et al teach an RFID reader system (fig11) for determining a section location of an electronically tagged item in a container 100 with a plurality of sections 130 comprising: an antenna array 190 comprising an arrangement of overlapping antenna coils 194 (fig11, para51), an antenna controller 180 configured to individually activate each antenna coil 194; and a processor 181 configured to: receive, from the RF antenna array 190, a plurality of response signals associated with an activated combination of antenna coils (paras39,55), identify at least one reading zone responsive to the activated combination of antenna coils (paras54-55), and based on the identified at least one reading zone, identify a container section as the location of the item (paras54-55).
Leitermann et al had been discussed but fail to teach a first loop arrangement comprising at least one first loop having a first current flow that causes a first magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field; and a second loop arrangement conductively connected to the first loop arrangement, the second loop arrangement comprising at least one second loop having a second current flow in a rotationally opposite direction to the first current flow, the second current flow causing a second magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field, wherein the first loop arrangement is configured to have a first inner area and the second loop arrangement is configured to have a second inner area so that the first magnetic field reduces the second magnetic field in the far field. However, Clemens teaches a first loop arrangement (upper loop, fig2b) comprising at least one first loop having a first current flow that causes a first magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field; and a second loop arrangement (bottom loop, fig2b) conductively connected to the first loop arrangement, the second loop arrangement comprising at least one second loop having a second current flow in a rotationally opposite direction to the first current flow, the second current flow causing a second magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field, wherein the first loop arrangement is configured to have a first inner area and the second loop arrangement is configured to have a second inner area so that the first magnetic field reduces the second magnetic field in the far field (col4, lines 3-10). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skilled in the art to provide Leitermann et al with a first loop arrangement comprising at least one first loop having a first current flow that causes a first magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field; and a second loop arrangement conductively connected to the first loop arrangement, the second loop arrangement comprising at least one second loop having a second current flow in a rotationally opposite direction to the first current flow, the second current flow causing a second magnetic field for detecting electronic tags in the near field, wherein the first loop arrangement is configured to have a first inner area and the second loop arrangement is configured to have a second inner area so that the first magnetic field reduces the second magnetic field in the far field for the purpose of improving the antenna gain.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 9 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The patents to Gray, Ennabli, Liu, Forster, Claessen and Menke are cited as of interested and illustrated an RFID reader system for determining a section location of an electronically tagged item in a container.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THO GIA PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1826. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8-430).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dimary Lopez can be reached on (571) 270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THO G PHAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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