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 .
Drawings
The drawings, dated 11/07/2024 are objected to because the crank line pattern shown on the helix is incomprehensible. Fig 1A, 1B and 2 seem to be automatically generated based on the photograph drawings submitted previously on 9/25/2024. In the original photographs, the meandering line appears to be consistently shaped along the helix path. However, in the replacement drawings dated 11/07/2024, the design of the 105a’ (on all helices in Fig 1A,1B and 2) does not seem to have a meander shape throughout. Instead, the trace pattern appears to shift from a meander, to a multi lobe shape, back to a meander, and into a fragmented design that does not have a definable shape matching the description of “a crank line or fractal meander line”
PNG
media_image1.png
639
854
media_image1.png
Greyscale
. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
It is unclear what the initialism “ISP”, when used in “ISP address” or “ISP number”, is meant to refer to as it is not apparent within the disclosure, or a widely used terminology.
For examination purposes, “ISP address” and “ISP number” will be read as any suitable information data to be transmitted or received.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim recites the limitation of “a plurality of helical antennas” and later recites the limitation of “the plurality of antennas”. It is unclear as to whether this is the same as the plurality of helical antennas, or meant to be an additional plurality, sans helical. Suggested to change “the plurality of antennas” to “the plurality of helical antennas” for parity.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (EP 3316397).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang et al. teaches:
A multi-axis helical antenna system (Fig 2 and Fig 3) comprising: a frame (Fig 1, 10); and a plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) connected to the frame (Fig 1, 10), wherein each of the helical antennas (Fig 2,20) includes a central axis (annotated Fig 2) and a helix (Fig 2, 21) configured about the central axis (annotated Fig 2), and wherein each different pair of helical antennas (annotated Fig 2) of the plurality of antennas (Fig 2, 20) is separated by a desired angle (annotated Fig 3, paragraph 38 “the purpose of changing the respective…angles of the respective faces…. may, thereby to adjust the angles of the beams of the helical antenna units”), respectively.
PNG
media_image2.png
819
1049
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) is configured for an end-fire radiation mode (Fig 4, beam coverage plotted, end-fire inherent to helical antenna).
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding claim 4, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) includes three helical antennas (annotated Fig 3 below)
PNG
media_image3.png
504
785
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 5, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) is configured such that in operation the antennas are substantially decoupled (Fig 2, 30, beam isolation plates) from one another.
Regarding Claim 7, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising transmission circuitry (Paragraph 59, transceiver) configured to supply each of the plurality of helical antennas with RF energy for transmission.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding Claim 8, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising processing circuitry (paragraph 59, transceiver to realize control) configured to transmit data to one or more targeted RF sources (paragraph 30, ‘the number of targets in a single beam”) within range of the plurality of helical antennas.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding Claim 9, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the processing circuitry (paragraph 59, transceiver to realize control) is further configured to utilize an ISP address for each of the one or more targeted (paragraph 30, ‘the number of targets in a single beam”) RF sources for data transmission (paragraph 49, multichannel signals).
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding Claim 10, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising reception circuity (paragraph 59, transceiver) configured to receive RF energy transmission (paragraph 49, “receive multichannel signals”). from one or more target RF sources within range of the plurality of helical antennas.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding claim 12, Zhang et al. teaches:
A method of making a multi-axis helical antenna system (Fig 2 and Fig 3), the method comprising: providing a frame (Fig 1, 10); and providing a plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) connected to the frame (Fig 1, 10), wherein each of the helical antennas (Fig 2,20) includes a central axis (annotated Fig 2) and a helix (Fig 2, 21) configured about the central axis (annotated Fig 2), and wherein each different pair of helical antennas (annotated Fig 2) of the plurality of antennas (Fig 2, 20) is separated by a desired angle (annotated Fig 3, paragraph 38 “the purpose of changing the respective…angles of the respective faces…. may, thereby to adjust the angles of the beams of the helical antenna units”), respectively .
PNG
media_image2.png
819
1049
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 13, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) is configured for an end-fire radiation mode (Fig 4, beam coverage, end-fire inherent to helical antenna).
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding claim 15, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) includes three helical antennas (annotated Fig 3 below)
PNG
media_image3.png
504
785
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 16, Zhang et al. teaches:
wherein the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 2, 20) is configured such that in operation the antennas are substantially decoupled (Fig 2, 30, beam isolation plates) from one another.
Regarding Claim 18, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising providing transmission circuitry (Paragraph 59, transceiver) configured to supply each of the plurality of helical antennas with RF energy for transmission.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding Claim 19, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising providing processing circuitry (paragraph 59, transceiver to realize control) configured to transmit data to one or more targeted RF sources (paragraph 30, ‘the number of targets in a single beam”) within range of the plurality of helical antennas.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Regarding Claim 20, Zhang et al. teaches:
further comprising providing reception circuity (paragraph 59, transceiver) configured to receive RF energy transmission (paragraph 49, “receive multichannel signals”). from one or more target RF sources within range of the plurality of helical antennas.
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
Claims 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Weinstein et al. (US 20080174488).
Regarding claim 1, Weinstein et al. teaches:
A multi-axis (Fig 2) helical antenna system comprising: a frame (Fig 1, 20); and a plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1, 22 and 24) connected to the frame (Fig 1, 20), wherein each of the helical antennas (Fig 1, 22 and 24) includes a central axis (Fig 1, 26) and a helix (Fig 1, 28) configured about the central axis (Fig 1, 26), and wherein each different pair of helical antennas (annotated Fig below) of the plurality of antennas (Fig 1 and 2) is separated by a desired angle (annotated Fig 1 and 2), respectively .
PNG
media_image4.png
547
958
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, Weinstein et al. teaches:
wherein the central axes (annotated Fig 1 and 2) of each adjacent pair (annotated Fig 1 and 2) of antennas of the plurality of helical antennas is separated by the desired angle (annotated Fig 1 and 2), wherein the desired angle (Fig 2) is in the range of about 15 degrees to about 60 degrees (Paragraph 24, 52 degrees).
Regarding claim 10, Weinstein et al. teaches: further comprising reception circuity (Fig 4) configured to receive (Fig 4, 92) RF energy from one or more target RF sources (Weinstein Claim 5, direction selection circuitry and finding circuitry) within range of the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1 and Fig 2)
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
.
Regarding claim 11, Weinstein et al. teaches:
further comprising processing circuity (Fig 4) configured to produce (Fig 4, 84) an output signal indicative of a location (Weinstein Claim 5, direction selection circuitry and finding circuitry) of one or more RF targets within range of the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1 and Fig 2)
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
.
Regarding claim 12, Weinstein et al. teaches:
A method of making a multi-axis (Fig 2) helical antenna system, the method comprising: providing a frame (Fig 1, 20); and providing a plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1, 22 and 24) connected to the frame (Fig 1, 20), wherein each of the helical antennas (Fig 1, 22 and 24) includes a central axis (Fig 1, 26) and a helix (Fig 1, 28) configured about the central axis (Fig 1, 26), and wherein each different pair of helical antennas (annotated Fig below) of the plurality of antennas (Fig 1 and 2) is separated by a desired angle (annotated Fig 1 and 2), respectively .
PNG
media_image4.png
547
958
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 14, Weinstein et al. teaches:
wherein the central axes (annotated Fig 1 and 2) of each adjacent pair (annotated Fig 1 and 2) of antennas of the plurality of helical antennas is separated by the desired angle (annotated Fig 1 and 2), wherein the desired angle (Fig 2) is in the range of about 15 degrees to about 60 degrees (Paragraph 24, 52 degrees).
Regarding claim 20, Weinstein et al. teaches:
further comprising providing reception circuity (Fig 4) configured to receive (Fig 4, 92) RF energy from one or more target RF sources (Weinstein Claim 5, direction selection circuitry and finding circuitry) within range of the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1 and Fig 2)
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
.
Regarding claim 21, Weinstein et al. teaches:
further comprising providing processing circuity (Fig 4) configured to produce (Fig 4, 84) an output signal indicative of a location (Weinstein Claim 5, direction selection circuitry and finding circuitry) of one or more RF targets within range of the plurality of helical antennas (Fig 1 and Fig 2)
Examiner’s note - Regarding the recitation that an element is “configured to” perform a function, it is the position of the office that such limitations are not positive structural limitations, and thus, only require the ability to so perform. In this case the prior art applied herein is construed as at least possessing such ability.
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 6 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (EP 3316397) in view of Ueda et al. (WO 2019044000).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang et al. does not teach:
wherein each helix includes a crank line or fractal meander line configuration
Ueda et al. does teach:
wherein each helix (Fig 49, 21) includes a crank line (Fig 49, 22) or fractal meander line configuration
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was
effectively filed to include “wherein each helix includes a crank line or fractal meander line configuration” as taught by Ueda et al., in the antenna system of Zhang et al. Doing so would allow for the impedance of the antenna to be substantially zero, allowing the antenna to transmit and receive with high efficiency (Ueda et al. page 41, Paragraph 172)
Regarding claim 17, Zhang et al. does not teach:
wherein each helix includes a crank line or fractal meander line configuration
Ueda et al. does teach:
wherein each helix (Fig 49, 21) includes a crank line (Fig 49, 22) or fractal meander line configuration
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was
effectively filed to include “wherein each helix includes a crank line or fractal meander line configuration” as taught by Ueda et al., in the antenna system of Zhang et al. Doing so would allow for the impedance of the antenna to be substantially zero, allowing the antenna to transmit and receive with high efficiency (Ueda et al. page 41, Paragraph 172)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID ANDREW KUBERA whose telephone number is (571)272-5605. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 0430-1400 PST.
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, Dameon Levi can be reached at (571) 272-2105. 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.
/DAMEON E LEVI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DAVID ANDREW KUBERA/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
Prosecution Insights