DETAILED ACTION
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)(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 1-4, 6, 10, 12-14 and 17-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the publication of Vassos et al “Ultra-low loss … millimeter-waves” [cited by applicant].
Regarding claim 1, Vassos et al teach a reconfigurable metasurface device (abstract, fig1,7; pg1-5) comprising: a planar dielectric substrate (fig1) and a two dimensional array of substantially planar conductive elements formed on or in the planar dielectric substrate (periodic surface of fig1 with unit cells according to fig7a and p4 consisting of two offset and dissimilar cross elements), wherein the two dimensional array of substantially planar conductive elements consists of alternating rows and columns of first and second substantially planar conductive elements (fig7 and p5), the first conductive elements each having a first shape (cross shaped) with a first width and height (fig7a), and the second conductive elements each having a second shape (cross shaped) with a second width and height (fig7a), the alternating rows and columns being offset with respect to each other such that centroids of the first shapes are disposed centrally between centroids of the second shapes of each adjacent row, and centroids of the first shapes of one column are disposed centrally between centroids of the second shapes in each adjacent column (the triangular lattice symmetry and slight difference between the two cross element dimensions cause a double resonance to be generated which enables a progressive reflection phase shift, p5, fig7a); a conductive ground plane (ground plane of fig1) disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to the two dimensional array of conductive elements so as to define an air gap between the two dimensional array of conductive elements and the conductive ground plane (variable cavity in fig1 which corresponds to the air gap t in figs7b-d, p5); and a micro-actuator (actuator in fig1) configured to adjust or vary a thickness of the air gap (p2 teaches the proposed tuning technique utilizes a piezoelectric actuator that is mounted on the underside of the ground plane and provides the cavity height variation which results in a continuous low loss phase shifting).
Regarding claims 2-4, 6, 10, 12-14, 17-23, Vassos et al also teach the micro-actuator is configured to vary the thickness of the air gap by moving the conductive ground plane relative to the metasurface, wherein the micro-actuator is disposed on or connected to a surface of the conductive ground plane facing away from the metasurface, wherein the micro-actuator is a piezoelectric actuator (p2 teaches the proposed tuning technique utilizes a piezoelectric actuator “PEA” that is mounted on the underside of the ground plane (fig1, ground plane) and provides the cavity height variation (W/L, width and length variation) which results in a continuous low loss phase shifting); the first shape is geometrically similar to the second shape, wherein the first width and height are different to the second width and height, wherein the first width is the same as the first height, and the second width is the same as the second height, wherein centroids of the respective first and second shapes are arranged in a substantially triangular lattice array pattern, wherein a unit cell of the triangular lattice array pattern has a centroid of a first conductive element as an apex, and centroids of the two closest, in an adjacent row or column, second conductive elements as first and second base, wherein the unit cell of the triangular lattice array pattern is an isosceles triangle, wherein the unit cell of the triangular lattice array pattern is an isosceles triangle with an obtuse apex angle, wherein the first and/or second shapes are polygons, the first and/or second shapes are cross shapes and the first and/or second shapes are "+" shapes (fig7a, p5 teaches the same substrate as used with thickness of 0.78 mm and dielectric constant of 2.2 was patterned with double cross of dimensions p= 2.6 mm, W1=W2=0.3 mm, L1=0.75 mm and L2=0.85 mm in a repeated array measuring 100 mm x 100mm; and the triangular lattice symmetry and slight difference between the two cross element dimensions cause a double resonance to be generated which enables a progressive reflection phase shift).
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 7-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over the publication of Vassos et al “Ultra-low loss … millimeter-waves” in view of the publication of Ramprabhu et al “Design … FSS polarizer” [both cited by applicant].
The publication of Vassos et al had been discussed but fail to teach to configure reflecting an incident electromagnetic wave and to convert or twist or preserve a linear polarization of the incident electromagnetic wave to a circular or different linear polarisation in the reflected electromagnetic wave by adjusting or varying the thickness of the air gap. However, the publication of Ramprabhu et al teach the variation in the dipole lengths is to introduce a phase difference of 90 degree between the two orthogonal components of the electromagnetic waves (fig1, p2). 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 the publication of Vassos et al with to configure reflecting an incident electromagnetic wave and to convert or twist or preserve a linear polarization of the incident electromagnetic wave to a circular or different linear polarisation in the reflected electromagnetic wave for the purpose of improving the antenna gain.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to have the first shape is geometrically different to the second shape, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known shape of the elements be varied for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The patents to Khushrushahi, Chazelas, McCandless, Bily, Gregoire, Legay and Higaki are cited as of interested and illustrated a similar structure to a reconfigurable metasurface device.
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