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 Objections
Claims 10, 12-13, 17-19 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 10, 12-13 and 17-19, the phrase “at least some of” should be changed to “at least one of”.
Claim 20, "the semiconductor wafer element" in lines 4-5 should be changed to “a semiconductor wafer element” to provide proper antecedent basis for claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iigusa (US 2005/0206573).
Regarding claim 16, Iigusa discloses in Figures 1-5, a radial line slot antenna array, comprising:
a substrate (13, Fig. 5A) comprising a radiating surface (14, Fig. 5A) for the array, the radiating surface comprising multiple slots (SL1-SL12) arranged in a predefined configuration representing a slot element layout for the radial line slot antenna array;
a set of switching devices (VC1-VC12), each switching device structurally aligned with a respective slot (SL1-SL7);
a plurality of bias control lines (lines between control circuit 2 and VC1-VC7); and
driving circuitry (2) configured to individually address the switching devices, whereby to enable selected bias signals to be applied to the switching devices using the bias control lines.
Regarding claim 19, as applied to claim 16, Iigusa discloses in Figure 1,
wherein at least some of the set of switching devices (SL1-SL12) comprise varactor diodes (see par. 0101) and/or memcapacitors.
Regarding claim 20, as applied to claim 16, Iigusa discloses in Figures 1-4,
wherein: the driving circuitry (2) comprises at least one high voltage driver configured to supply a high voltage bias signal; and/or the radiating surface comprises a metallic layer interposed between and bonded to the semiconductor wafer element and the substrate.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kishimoto et al (US 2018/0062269).
Regarding claim 16, Kishimoto discloses in Figure 1, a radial line slot antenna array, comprising:
a substrate comprising a radiating surface (101) for the array, the radiating surface comprising multiple slots (102) arranged in a predefined configuration representing a slot element layout for the radial line slot antenna array;
a set of switching devices (104), each switching device structurally aligned with a respective slot (102);
a plurality of bias control lines (105); and
driving circuitry (107) configured to individually address the switching devices, whereby to enable selected bias signals to be applied to the switching devices using the bias control lines.
Regarding claim 17, as applied to claim 16, Kishimoto discloses in Figure 1,
wherein at least some of the set of switching devices (104) comprise micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) switches (see par. 0021).
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 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Kishimoto et al (US 2018/0062269) in view of Sievenpiper (US 2004/0227678).
Regarding claim 18, Kishimoto is silent on the MEMS switches comprising charge-controlled or field-controlled MEMS switches; and/or at least some of the MEMS switches comprise cantilever, bridge, or diaphragm type MEMS.
Sievenpiper discloses in Figures 2a-2b and par. 0046, the MEMS switches comprising charge-controlled or field-controlled MEMS switches; and/or at least some of the MEMS switches (8) comprise cantilever, bridge, or diaphragm type MEMS.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to select at least some of the MEMS switches of Kishimoto with at least some of the MEMS switches as taught by Sievenpiper to make effective MEMS-tuned antenna, since such modification would have involved a mere change or selecting in a suitable type of MEMS switches and generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 1 and 9, Iigusa and Kishimoto fail to disclose a set of active switching devices integrally formed in a semiconductor wafer element bonded to the substrate; a plurality of bias control lines integrally formed in the semiconductor wafer element; and driving circuitry integrally formed in the semiconductor wafer element and configured to individually address the active switching devices.
However, there is no teaching or suggestion for combination to meet the method and structure requirement of the radio line slot antenna array as in claims 1 and 9. Claims 2-8 and 10-15 are allowed since they are dependent on claims 1 and 9.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEU HIEN T DUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-8980. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DIMARY CRUZ LOPEZ can be reached at 571-270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DIEU HIEN T DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
Prosecution Insights