DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Li US 11,658,381 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The corresponding rejection has been withdrawn. Note that new rejections are added to meet at least some of the claims.
Applicant's arguments regarding “a plurality of resonator” (claim 1) with respect to the rejection by Chen US 9,030,277 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The concept of the use of multiple resonators in a filter is extremely well-known in the art to achieve desired filter characteristics. For example, each of Xu US 12,456,787 (Fig. 4), Park US 10,109,906 (Fig. 23), Cho US 9,583,806 (Fig. 1) shows filter with a plurality of resonators. However, in the interest of further examination and providing additional clarity, a reference is added to the rejection of Chen for ease of understanding.
Applicant's arguments regarding “resonators … surrounded by metallized vias” (claim 6) with respect to the rejection by Chen US 9,030,277 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues “[t]he via of Chen therefore passes through the center of the resonator”, but Fig. 3a clearly show the via is on a side (edge). Chen’s other figures also show that the “virtual ground” (Fig. 3b, 5, 6) that is connected to the via is on one side (Fig. 6 layer 6). Furthermore, Applicant’s original specification does not explicitly define the detail of “surrounded” and the closest drawing (Fig. 12) only show one resonator to be surrounded by one via on one side. As such, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, when there are multiple resonators each with a via (Application: Fig. 12, Chen: Fig. 3a), the resonators would be surrounded by vias on at least one side. However, in the interest of further examination and providing additional clarity, a reference is added to the rejection of Chen for the more general of “surrounded”.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “the multimode resonators … are surrounded by metallized vias” (claim 6) as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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 § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 6-11, 19, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen US 9,030,277 in view of Park US 10,109,906.
1. Chen discloses a multiband filter (Figs. 1, 3a,b, etc.) comprising: a multimode resonator (Figs. 3a,b, 5), wherein the multimode resonator is a strip line resonator comprising a grounding part (the line in layer 6, virtual ground) and two or more non-grounding branches (the strip lines above and below layer 6) for achieving multiple modes (Col. 3 lines 53-55).
Li does not explicitly disclose a plurality of multimode resonators. However, it is well known in the art that a plurality of resonators can be used in a filter to achieve desired filter characteristics.
Park exemplarily discloses a filter (Fig. 23) comprises a plurality of multimode resonators (16-1, 16-2) for filter characteristics (e.g., Fig. 22 vs Fig. 24).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have made the filter with a plurality of multimode resonators. The modification would have been obvious as plurality of resonators and making plurality of elements used in filter is well known to achieve desired filter characteristics (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)) as well as taught by Park (Figs. 21-24).
6. The multiband filter according to claim 1, further comprising a multi-layer circuit board (Fig. 3a,b), wherein the multimode resonators are arranged on a middle layer that is sandwiched between an upper conductive layer (G1) and a lower conductive layer (G2), and are surrounded by metalized vias (the long vertical via connecting G1 and G2; note that due to the plurality of resonators, there would be plurality of such vias) for electrically connecting the upper conductive layer and the lower conductive layer.
7. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the grounding part (the line in layer 6, virtual ground) of each of the multimode resonators is connected to one of the metalized vias.
8. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the middle layer is made of ceramic, and the multimode resonators are formed on the middle layer by LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic; Col. 6 lines 21-26) technology or HTCC (High Temperature Co-fired Ceramic) technology.
9. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the multi-layer circuit board is a PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly), and the multimode resonators are laminated on the middle layer (Fig. 3a,b; as shown the resonator is in layers between the grounds, thus viewed as PCBA).
10. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein at least one multimode resonator extends across two or more middle layers, and portions of the at least one multimode resonator on different layers are connected by a metalized via through the two or more layers (Fig. 3a,b show lines in two or more middle layers and vias for connecting the lines).
11. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein a first one of the plurality of multimode resonators is connected to a first RF (Radio Frequency) port, and a second one of the plurality of multimode resonators is connected to a second RF port (Park: Fig. 23).
19. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein the grounding part of the strip line resonator is provided at a junction of the two or more non-grounding branches (Fig. 3a,b; line in layer 6, virtual ground, junction between the top and bottom lines).
22. A communication device (Col. 1 lines 16-26; used in communication field/system), comprising at least one multiband filter according to claim 1.
Claim(s) 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen US 9,030,277 of record in view of Park US 10,109,906 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hasegawa US 11,791,522.
6. In an alternate interpretation, the combination discloses the multiband filter according to claim 1, further comprising a multi-layer circuit board (Chen: Fig. 3a,b), wherein the multimode resonators are arranged on a middle layer that is sandwiched between an upper conductive layer (G1) and a lower conductive layer (G2), and metalized vias (the long vertical via connecting G1 and G2) for electrically connecting the upper conductive layer and the lower conductive layer but does not disclose the multimode resonators are surrounded by the metalized vias.
Hasegawa exemplarily discloses a filter (Figs. 1, 7-10, etc.) comprising: a multilayer substrate (11), a plurality of resonators (141-146) arranged in a middle layer that is sandwiched between an upper conductive layer (13) and a lower conductive layer (12), and are surrounded by metalized vias (171-179) for electrically connecting the upper conductive layer and the lower conductive layer.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the resonators surrounded by a plurality of metalized vias for electrically connecting the upper and lower conductive layers. The modification would have been obvious because the upper and lower conductive layers can be short-circuited to each other as well as controlling the filter characteristics as taught by Hasegawa (Figs. 1, 7-10; Col. 9 lines 4-6, Col. 13 line 54 – Col. 14 line 50).
7. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the grounding part (the line in layer 6, virtual ground) of each of the multimode resonators is connected to one of the metalized vias.
8. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the middle layer is made of ceramic, and the multimode resonators are formed on the middle layer by LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic; Col. 6 lines 21-26) technology or HTCC (High Temperature Co-fired Ceramic) technology.
9. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the multi-layer circuit board is a PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly), and the multimode resonators are laminated on the middle layer (Fig. 3a,b; as shown the resonator is in layers between the grounds, thus viewed as PCBA).
10. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein at least one multimode resonator extends across two or more middle layers, and portions of the at least one multimode resonator on different layers are connected by a metalized via through the two or more layers (Fig. 3a,b show lines in two or more middle layers and vias for connecting the lines).
Claim(s) 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen US 9,030,277 of record in view of Park US 10,109,906 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wu US 7,971,756.
13. The Chen/Park combination discloses the invention as discussed above, but does not disclose the multiband filter is configured to be tuned in production by a tuning screw or tuning tab.
Wu exemplarily discloses a filter device (Fig. 10A) comprising a strip transmission line (606) that can be tuned by tuning screw (Col. 5 lines 14-22).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have added a tuning screw to the filter. The modification would have been obvious because a tuning screw can change capacitance and adjust filtering characteristic as taught by Wu (Col. 5 lines 14-22).
14. The multiband filter according to claim 13, wherein the multiband filter is configured to separately tune the frequency and/or the coupling in different modes (the tuning functions are achieved by the structure that is met by the combination, thus the combination would be able to perform the claimed tuning functions).
Claim(s) 1, 11, 19, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao CN-110534852B in view of Park US 10,109,906 and Akale US 8,760,243.
1. Liao discloses a multiband filter (Figs. 1-3; title) comprising: a multimode resonator, wherein the multimode resonator is a microstrip line resonator comprising a grounding part (13, 14) and two or more non-grounding branches (6-12, 17-19, etc.) for achieving multiple modes.
Liao does not explicitly disclose a plurality of multimode resonators and the resonator is a strip line resonator. However, it is well known in the art that a plurality of resonators can be used in a filter to achieve desired filter characteristics and that filter can be implemented in microstrip line or strip line.
Park exemplarily discloses a filter (Fig. 23) comprises a plurality of multimode resonators (16-1, 16-2) for filter characteristics (e.g., Fig. 22 vs Fig. 24).
Akale exemplarily discloses a filter (Fig. 1, etc.) can be implemented in microstrip or other transmission line type such as strip line (Col. 8 lines 52-55).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have made the filter with a plurality of multimode resonators and implemented the resonator in strip line. The modification would have been obvious as plurality of resonators and making plurality of elements used in filter is well known to achieve desired filter characteristics (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)) as well as taught by Park (Figs. 21-24); and implementation in other transmission line type is well-known as well as taught by Akale (Col. 8 lines 52-55).
11. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein a first one of the plurality of multimode resonators is connected to a first RF (Radio Frequency) port, and a second one of the plurality of multimode resonators is connected to a second RF port (Park: Fig. 23).
19. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein the grounding part (Liao: 13) of the strip line resonator is provided at a junction of the two or more non-grounding branches (8, 17).
22. A communication device ([0001]-[0004]) wireless communication field/system), comprising at least one multiband filter according to claim 1.
Claim(s) 6, 7, 9, 15, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao CN-110534852B in view of Park US 10,109,906 and Akale US 8,760,243 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hasegawa US 11,791,522.
6. The combination discloses the multiband filter according to claim 1, further comprising a multi-layer circuit board (Liao: Fig. 1), wherein the multimode resonators are arranged on a middle layer that is sandwiched between an upper conductive layer (necessarily exist in the combination due to being strip line) and a lower conductive layer (1), and surrounded by metalized vias (15, 16) but does not disclose the metalized vias for electrically connecting the upper conductive layer and the lower conductive layer.
Hasegawa exemplarily discloses a filter (Figs. 1, 7-10, etc.) comprising: a multilayer substrate (11), a plurality of resonators (141-146) arranged in a middle layer that is sandwiched between an upper conductive layer (13) and a lower conductive layer (12), and are surrounded by metalized vias (171-179) for electrically connecting the upper conductive layer and the lower conductive layer.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the resonators surrounded by a plurality of metalized vias for electrically connecting the upper and lower conductive layers. The modification would have been obvious because the upper and lower conductive layers can be short-circuited to each other as well as controlling the filter characteristics as taught by Hasegawa (Figs. 1, 7-10; Col. 9 lines 4-6, Col. 13 line 54 – Col. 14 line 50).
7. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the grounding part (Liao: item 13, 14) of each of the multimode resonators is connected to one of the metalized vias (15, 16).
9. The multiband filter according to claim 6, wherein the multi-layer circuit board is a PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly; Liao: Fig. 1), and the multimode resonators are laminated on the middle layer (the combination is strip line type, thus the resonators necessarily be in the middle layer).
15. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein the non-grounding branches (Liao: items 6-12, 17-19) of the strip line resonator substantially extend in the same plane (see Fig. 3).
16. The multiband filter according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the non-grounding branches is folded and/or provided with an enlarged end portion (Liao: items 9, 17-19 are folded, items 10-12 together can also read as folded, item 11 as enlarged end portion).
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li US 2025/0266597 in view of Cho US 9,627,731.
The applied reference, Li, has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C.102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B); or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
1. Li discloses multiband filter (Fig. 1, etc.) comprises a plurality of multimode resonators (at least items 111, 118), wherein each of the multimode resonators is a line resonator comprising: a first part (any of Fig. 3A-E, item 201) and two or more non-grounding branches (202-204) for achieving multi modes (e.g., Fig. 6 shows two modes) and the resonators are within a housing (101) and the first part is connected to the housing (see Fig. 1).
Li does not explicitly disclose the line resonator is a strip line resonator and the first part is a grounding part.
Cho exemplarily discloses a resonator device (Fig. 1, 6, etc.) comprising: a case (110; i.e., housing) with ground surfaces (112, 114; Col. 4 lines 34-41); a resonator (115) having a first part that is a grounding part (120) connected to one of the ground surfaces (Figs. 1, 2; Col. 4 lines 55-57) and a protruding (branch) part (130).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the housing to be grounded. The modification would have been obvious because shielding can be provided as taught by Cho (Col. 4 lines 42-49). As a result of the combination, the line resonators would be between two ground surfaces, thus forming strip line resonators and that the first part being connected to grounded surface would be read as a grounding part.
2. The multiband filter according to claim 1, further comprising a chassis (Li: 101) that defines a cavity ([0035]), wherein the multimode resonators (111, 118) are disposed in the cavity, and the grounding part is connected to the chassis (see Fig. 1).
3. The multiband filter according to claim 2, wherein the multimode resonators are integrally part of the chassis (Li: Fig. 1; [0052], all elements are integrated in a unit).
5. The multiband filter according to claim 2, wherein the chassis and/or the strip line resonator is/are metal or a non-metal base with a metallized surface (Li: [0022], [0052]).
15. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein the non-grounding branches of the strip line resonator substantially extend in the same plane (Li: Figs. 1, 3A-E).
16. The multiband filter according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the non-grounding branches is folded and/or provided with an enlarged end portion (Li: 202 is shown as enlarged as similar to Application’s Fig. 1A).
18. The multiband filter according to claim 15, wherein at least two non-grounding branches of the stirp line resonator extend substantially parallel to each other and have different lengths in the extending direction (Li: items 202, 203).
19. The multiband filter according to claim 1, wherein the grounding part (Li: 201) of the strip line is provided at a junction of the two or more non-grounding branches (see Figs. 3A-E).
22. A communication device (Li: [0001], [0023]), comprising at least one multiband filter according to claim 1.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li US 2025/0266597 in view of Cho US 9,627,731 as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Karhu US 12,040,524.
4. Li/Cho combination discloses the invention as discussed above, including the resonator having the multimode resonators are connected to the chassis (Li: Fig. 1; [0021], [0022], [0052]), but does not explicitly disclose the multimode resonators are connected to the chassis by soldering or welding.
Karhu exemplarily discloses in a filter (Fig. 1A, etc.) having a chassis (base 20), a resonator (12, 14) is connected to the chassis by soldering (Col. 7 lines 5-7).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used solder for connecting the resonators to the chassis. The modification would have been obvious as a typical implementation for connection of the resonator to the chassis as taught by Karhu (Col. 7 lines 5-7) useable thereof.
Claim(s) 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li US 2025/0266597 in view of Cho US 9,627,731 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wu US 7,971,756.
13. The Li/Cho combination discloses the invention as discussed above, but does not disclose the multiband filter is configured to be tuned in production by a tuning screw or tuning tab.
Wu exemplarily discloses a filter device (Fig. 10A) comprising a strip transmission line (606) that can be tuned by tuning screw (Col. 5 lines 14-22).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have added a tuning screw to the filter. The modification would have been obvious because a tuning screw can change capacitance and adjust filtering characteristic as taught by Wu (Col. 5 lines 14-22).
14. The multiband filter according to claim 13, wherein the multiband filter is configured to separately tune the frequency and/or the coupling in different modes (the tuning functions are achieved by the structure that is met by the combination, thus the combination would be able to perform the claimed tuning functions).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12, 17 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 rejection is made Non-Final for the added new rejections.
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/A.W/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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