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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hellsten (US 9,618,606 B2) in view of Sanderovich et al (US 2017/0078013 A1), hereinafter Sanderovich.
Regarding claim 1, Hellsten (abstract) teaches a device comprising:
a ground plane 330 (Figure 4);
an antenna that includes at least a first radiating element 310, the first radiating element including a first pair of dipole arms (legs 320) that are mounted above the ground plane (Figure 3); and
a feed network (feeding legs, Figure 4) that is connected to the antenna, wherein the feed network is selectively configurable to feed the first pair of dipole arms either in-phase or out-of-phase (col 8 lines 36-44).
Hellsten fails to explicitly mention an access point comprising dipole arms and feed network feeding the dipole arms.
Sanderovich (Figure 6) teaches a system and method for reducing interference using polarization diversity comprising an access point 110 (para [0025] and [0026]) comprising antennas 610 and 612 having dipole arms.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the device of Hellsten as an access point including feeding dipole arms, as taught by Sanderovich, doing so would increase bandwidth for specific wireless communication requirements.
Regarding claim 2, as applied to claim 1, Hellsten (Figure 4, col 8 lines 36-44) teaches that the first radiating element is configured to radiate radio frequency ("RF") energy having a horizontal polarization with respect to the ground plane when the first pair of dipole arms are fed out-of-phase.
Hellsten fails to further teach a vertical polarization with respect to the ground plane when the first pair of dipole arms are fed in-phase.
Sanderovich (Figure 6, para [0065] and [0066]) teaches a system and method for reducing interference using polarization diversity comprising dipole arms 610 and 612 being fed in-phase to produce horizontal and vertical polarizations.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the access point of Hellsten with feeding dipole arms for horizontal and vertical polarization, as taught by Sanderovich, doing so would increase bandwidth for specific wireless communication requirements.
Regarding claim 3, as applied to claim 1, Hellsten further teaches that the access point is configurable to generate a selected one of a plurality of different radiation patterns (Figure 1, col 2 lines 7-9 and col 3 lines 28-36).
Hellsten fails to explicitly teach that the access point is configured to select, for each of a plurality of client devices, and a combination of a polarization for the first radiating element and a radiation pattern for the antenna that are used for transmission of radio frequency ("RF") signals from the access point to each of the client devices.
Sanderovich (para [0025] and [0026]) teaches a system and method for reducing interference using polarization diversity comprising an access point (wireless nodes) configured to select, for each of a plurality of client devices, a polarization used for transmission from the access point to each of the client devices.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the access point of Hellsten with the access point configured to select polarizations for transmitting to a plurality of client devices, as taught by Sanderovich, doing so would reduce interference.
Regarding claim 12, Hellsten (abstract) teaches a device comprising:
a ground plane 330 (Figure 4, col 7 lines 65-67);
an antenna that includes at least a first radiating element 310, the first radiating element including a first pair of dipole arms 320 that are mounted above the ground plane (Figure 4, col 8 lines 36-44);
a feed network (Figure 4, feeding legs) that is connected to the antenna, wherein the first radiating element is selectively configurable to transmit and receive radio frequency ("RF") signals having a horizontal polarization with respect to the ground plane or a vertical polarization with respect to the ground plane (Figure 4 col 3 lines 28-36, figures 6a and 6b col 8 lines 14-23).
Hellsten fails to explicitly mention an access point comprising dipole arms and feed network feeding the dipole arms.
Sanderovich (Figure 6) teaches a system and method for reducing interference using polarization diversity comprising an access point 110 (para [0025] and [0026]) comprising antennas 610 and 612 having dipole arms and a feeding network feed the dipole arms (Figure 6, para [0068]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the device of Hellsten as an access point including feeding dipole arms, as taught by Sanderovich, doing so would increase bandwidth for specific wireless communication requirements (para [0002]).
Regarding claim 13, as applied to claim 12, wherein the antenna is configurable to generate a selected one of a plurality of different radiation patterns (Figure 1, col 2 lines 7-9 and col 3 lines 28-36).
Hellsten fails to explicitly teach that the access point is configured to select, for each of a plurality of client devices, and a combination of a polarization for the first radiating element and a radiation pattern for the antenna that are used for transmission of radio frequency ("RF") signals from the access point to each of the client devices.
Sanderovich (para [0025] and [0026]) teaches a system and method for reducing interference using polarization diversity comprising an access point (wireless nodes) configured to select, for each of a plurality of client devices, a polarization used for transmission from the access point to each of the client devices.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the access point of Hellsten with the access point configured to select polarizations for transmitting to a plurality of client devices, as taught by Sanderovich, doing so would reduce interference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9, 14-15 and 17-18 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.
Claims 19, 23-25 and 27 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, neither Hellsten nor Sanderovich further teaches a first parasitic pattern shaping element and a second parasitic pattern shaping element that are each configured to selectively shape a radiation pattern of the first radiating element, where the first parasitic pattern shaping element extends substantially in parallel to the ground plane, and the second parasitic pattern shaping element extends substantially perpendicular to the ground plane.
Claim 5 would have been found allowable for at least the reason for depending on claim 4.
Regarding claims 6 and 14, neither Hellsten nor Sanderovich teaches that the antenna further comprises at least a second dipole radiating element and a third dipole radiating element that together with the first dipole radiating element form at least part of an Alford Loop, the second dipole radiating element including a second pair of dipole arms that are mounted above the ground plane, and the third dipole radiating element including a third pair of dipole arms that are mounted above the ground plane, and wherein the feed network is selectively configurable to feed all of the first through third pairs of dipole arms either in-phase or out-of-phase.
Claims 7-9 would have been found for at least the reason for depending, either directly or indirectly, on claim 6.
Claim 15 would have been found allowable for at least the reason for depending on claim 14.
Regarding claim 17, neither Hellsten nor Sanderovich further teaches that the first pair of dipole arms comprises a first dipole arm and a second dipole arm, and wherein the feed network includes: a first switch having an input, a first output that is electrically connected to the second dipole arm, and a second output that is electrically connected to the ground plane; and a first radio frequency ("RF") transmission line that includes a signal conductor that is electrically connected to the first dipole arm and a ground conductor that is electrically connected to an input of the first switch.
Claim 18 would have been found allowable for at least the reason for depending on claim 17.
Regarding claim 19, neither Hellsten nor Sanderovich teaches an access point comprising a ground plane; a dipole radiating element that includes a first dipole arm and a second dipole arm; a first switch having an input, a first output that is electrically connected to the second dipole arm, and a second output that is electrically connected to the ground plane; a first RF transmission line that includes a signal conductor that is electrically connected to the first dipole arm and a ground conductor that is electrically connected to an input of the first switch; and a second switch that is configured to selectively electrically connect the first output of the first switch to the first dipole arm.
Claims 23-25 and 27 are allowed for at least the reason for depending, either directly or indirectly, on claim 19.
Conclusion
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/HOANG V NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845