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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 11, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1: In the second to last line of the claim, the term “surround” renders the scope of the claim unclear. This is because Applicant does not use the term anywhere in the written description to describe the relevant parts of the invention, leaving the meaning of the claim term uncertain when interpreted in light of the specification. For the purposes of applying prior art, the Examiner interprets the limitation in question according to the specification, para. [0055].
Claims 2-7 include the same issue due to their dependency on claim 1, and are rejected for the same reasons.
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 1, 2 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CHEN (U.S. Publication No. 2018/0076512).
CHEN, in figures 2-4, discloses:
Claim 1: An antenna apparatus (1) comprising: a bottom member (103) configured to be mounted on a vehicle; an antenna module (2) including at least one antenna and disposed on a first portion (front side) of the bottom member; at least one light emitting element (3) disposed on a second portion (rear side) of the bottom member; and a cover member (101) coupled to the bottom member to surround the antenna module and the at least one light emitting element therein (fig. 2).
Claim 2: wherein the at least one light emitting element includes at least one of at least one first light emitting element and at least one second light emitting element (3), and wherein the antenna apparatus further includes at least one of a lens mounted above the at least one first light emitting element and a reflector (102, fig. 6) mounted above the at least one second light emitting element.
Claim 4: further including at least one light emitting element (multiple LED dies, para. [0030]) disposed on a third portion (middle region) of the bottom member.
Claim 5: wherein the bottom member has a shape in which a cross section is widened from the second portion toward the first portion (fig. 2).
Claim 6: wherein the cover member includes a transparent or translucent material (para. [0029]).
Claim 7: further including a transmitter configured to transmit at least one of an infrared signal and an electromagnetic wave signal (para. [0030]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT KARACSONY whose telephone number is (571)270-1268. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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 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.
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/Robert Karacsony/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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