DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgement is made of the preliminary amendment submitted on 09/23/2025. In virtue of this amendments:
Claim 13 is currently amended; and thus,
Claims 1-14 are pending;
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of this application’s status as a 371 of PCT/EP2023/054750 filed on 02/24/2023.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy of FR2206091 filed on 06/51/2022 has been received/retrieved by the office.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/13/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the drawing should be presented as black and white line drawing; thus Figs. 3A, 3B, 4 and 9-15 should be redrawn in black and white line drawing similarly to Fig.1 of prior art US2024/0243487A1.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). 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 § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-4, 6-10 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by NPL “A Compact Broadband Circularly Polarized Crossed-Dipole Antenna With a Very Low Profile” hereinafter “Yang’.
Regarding claim 1, Yang discloses an antenna assembly (a low profile wideband circular polarized (CP) crossed-dipole antenna) comprising:
a printed circuit board having a set of conductive elements forming an antenna structure on at least one of a top surface and a bottom surface of the printed circuit board (¶the antenna consists of two crossed dipoles; as can be seen from the figure, the crossed dipoles are printed on the top and bottom surface of a substrate),
the printed circuit board having a square or rectangular shape (as shown in Fig.1c),
the printed circuit board further including at least one additional conductive element at least partially surrounding the antenna structure (parasitic shorted elements are introduced around the dipoles); and
a conductive plate positioned parallel to the bottom surface of the printed circuit board (as shown in Fig.1c; Ground Plane),
the conductive plate supporting the printed circuit board at a fixed distance from the conductive plate using at least one conductive mechanical support element (as shown in Fig.1c, metallic pin [1,2] arranged with parallel with a distance of [h]); wherein
the at least one additional conductive element is electrically coupled to the conductive plate through the at least one conductive mechanical support element, the additional conductive element having a linear section. (as shown in Fig.1, each parasitic element consists of a horizontal patch and a vertical metallic pin which connects the former with the ground plane)
Regarding claim 2, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein
the at least one additional conductive element is at least one of electrically coupled and electromagnetically coupled to the conductive plate through the at least one conductive mechanical support element. (as shown in Fig.1, each parasitic element consists of a horizontal patch and a vertical metallic pin which connects the former with the ground plane)
Regarding claim 3, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein
the at least one conductive support element is a pin formed out of the conductive plate and oriented orthogonal to the conductive plate and the printed circuit board. (as shown in Fig.1c, metallic pin [1,2])
Regarding claim 4, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein
the conductive plate and the at least one additional conductive element are configured as a three dimensional open reflector structure surrounding the antenna structure (as shown in Fig.6), the reflector structure increasing the antenna gain of the antenna structure. (to improve antenna performance, eight parasitic shorted elements are introduced around the dipole)
Regarding claim 6, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein
the antenna structure is formed by conductive elements on both the top surface and the bottom surface of a double-sided printed circuit board. (the cross dipoles are printed on the top and bottom surface of a substrate)
Regarding claim 7, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 6, wherein
the conductive elements on the top surface of the double-sided printed circuit board form a portion of a first bow tie antenna structure and the conductive elements on the bottom surface of the double-sided printed circuit board form a portion of a second bow tie antenna structure, the conductive elements that form the portion of the second bow tie antenna structure oriented orthogonal to the conductive elements that form the portion of the first bow tie antenna structure. (as shown in Fig.1(a) and Fig.1(b))
Regarding claim 8, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 6, wherein
at least one additional conductive element includes at least one additional conductive element on the top side of the double-sided printed circuit board and at least one additional conductive element on the bottom surface of the double-sided printed circuit board. (to improve the antenna performance, eight parasitic shorted elements are introduces around the dipoles, located on the top and bottom surface of the substrate)
Regarding claim 9, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 8, wherein
the at least one additional conductive element on the top surface of the double-sided printed circuit board (to improve the antenna performance, eight parasitic shorted elements are introduces around the dipoles, located on the top and bottom surface of the substrate) includes
a first additional conductive element formed at a first corner of the double-sided printed circuit, the first additional conductive element extending from the first corner and spanning at least a portion of the length of each of the edges of the top surface of the double-sided printed circuit adjacent to the first corner (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 1, top left corner), and
a second additional conductive element extending from a second corner opposite the first corner and spanning at least a portion of the length of each of the edges of the top surface of the double-sided printed circuit adjacent to the second corner (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 1, bottom right corner), and wherein
the at least one additional conductive element on the bottom surface of the double-sided printed circuit board includes a third additional conductive element formed at
a third corner of the double-sided printed circuit adjacent to the first corner, the third additional conductive element extending from the third corner and spanning at least a portion of the length of each of the edges of the bottom surface of the double-sided printed circuit adjacent to the third corner (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 2, top right corner), and
a fourth additional conductive element extending from a fourth corner opposite the third corner and spanning at least a portion of the length of each of the edges of the bottom surface of the double-sided printed circuit adjacent to the fourth corner. (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 2, bottom left corner)
Regarding claim 10, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 9, wherein
the first additional conductive element and the second additional conductive element span a length that is less than half of the length of each of the edges of top surface of double-sided printed circuit board (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 1) and wherein
the third additional conductive element and the fourth additional conductive element span a length that is less than half of the length of each of the edges of bottom surface of double-sided printed circuit board. (as shown in Fig.1(b) parasitic element 2)
Regarding claim 13, Yang discloses the apparatus comprising:
a circuit capable of at least one of processing a communication signal received wirelessly from a network and processing a communication signal for transmission wirelessly to the network (as shown in Fig.1(c), SMA connector which is connector is a highly common, threaded RF (radio frequency) coaxial connector used for high-frequency signals and are most frequently found on Wi-Fi routers, GPS antennas, and software-defined radios); and
an antenna assembly (a low profile wideband circular polarized (CP) crossed-dipole antenna) coupled to the circuit, the antenna assembly comprising:
a printed circuit board having a set of conductive elements forming an antenna structure on at least one of a top surface and a bottom surface of the printed circuit board (¶the antenna consists of two crossed dipoles; as can be seen from the figure, the crossed dipoles are printed on the top and bottom surface of a substrate),
the printed circuit board having a square or rectangular shape (as shown in Fig.1c),
the printed circuit board further including at least one additional conductive element at least partially surrounding the antenna structure (parasitic shorted elements are introduced around the dipoles); and
a conductive plate positioned parallel to the bottom surface of the printed circuit board (as shown in Fig.1c; Ground Plane),
the conductive plate supporting the printed circuit board at a fixed distance from the conductive plate using at least one conductive mechanical support element (as shown in Fig.1c, metallic pin [1,2] arranged with parallel with a distance of [h]); wherein
the at least one additional conductive element is electrically coupled to the conductive plate through the at least one conductive mechanical support element, the additional conductive element having a linear section. (as shown in Fig.1, each parasitic element consists of a horizontal patch and a vertical metallic pin which connects the former with the ground plane)
Regarding claim 14, Yang discloses the apparatus of claim 13, wherein
the apparatus is a gateway device used to interface a wide area network to a local area network in a customer premises. (as shown in Fig.1(c), SMA connector which is connector is a highly common, threaded RF (radio frequency) coaxial connector used for high-frequency signals and are most frequently found on Wi-Fi routers, GPS antennas, and software-defined radios)
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 5 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of US2024/0243487A1 hereinafter “Sone”
Regarding claim 5, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1
Yang does not disclose
the antenna structure is a dual polarized high gain antenna.
Sone discloses an antenna device wherein the antenna is similarly designed as the antenna Yang, however, it dual polarized (as shown in Fig.1 for example, ¶6: the linearly polarized wave of the first planar antenna and the linearly polarized wave of the second planar antenna intersect each other.)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the antenna disclosed by Yang to be dual polarized as disclosed by Sone.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because this allows the antenna to transmit data from each of the antenna simultaneously. (Sone ¶53)
Regarding claim 11, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1, further comprising
at least one coaxial cable coupled to the antenna structure the at least one coaxial cable providing a signal interface between the antenna assembly and a communication circuit, the at least one coaxial cable mechanically coupled to the conductive plate (a feeding coaxial cable; as shown in Fig.1 for example)
Yang does not disclose:
the coaxial cable exiting the antenna assembly in the between the conductive plate and the printed circuit board.
Sone disclose an antenna wherein the feeding line [36] exits between the conductive plate and the printed circuit board. (as shown in Fig.1 for example)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the antenna disclosed by Yang to rearrange the location of the coaxial cable to be similar to what is disclosed in Sone.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japiske, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 12, Yang discloses the antenna assembly of claim 1,
Yang does not explicitly disclose:
the antenna structure is configured to transmit and receive wireless signal over a range of frequencies from 3300 megahertz (MHz) to 4200 MHz.
Yang does disclose the dipole ram can be tune to adjust eh working frequency band (adjust the dipole arm and lower parasitic patch to tune the working frequency band)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the antenna disclosed by Yang tune the working frequency band to be within the range required by the claim.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because this allow the antenna to be used in various application such as 4G communication, similarly disclosed by Sone. (¶54)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND R CHAI whose telephone number is (571)270-0576. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-5:00PM.
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/Raymond R Chai/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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