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 .
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 10/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
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 1, 3 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (US 2024/0304992).
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Claim 1: Wang discloses (figs. 2A & 2J shown above) “An antenna module (antenna 200), comprising:
a ground plane (¶33, “The PTHs 250 may physically and electrically connect the base of each leg of the parasitic element 210 to the ground layer on the horizontally-extending PCB 240”);
a first antenna structure comprising:
a first radiator (220, 220X) comprising a first feed end (see fig. 2A, where active element 220 is connected to feeding line 260);
and two second radiators (210-1G comprises two portions forming the two second radiators) disposed symmetrically to each other and spaced apart from each other (¶53, “As shown in FIG. 2J, an antenna may have two parasitic elements 210-1G, 210-2G that each have a gap G in their respective horizontal portions 212G.”), wherein the two second radiators (210-1G) are disposed in parallel on one side of the first radiator (¶51, “the substrate 230, the PCB 240, and the feeding line 260 that are shown in FIG. 2A are omitted from view in FIGS. 2I-2L”) and are spaced apart from the first radiator (shown in fig. 2A), the two second radiators (210-1G) comprise two first open ends (upper ends) and two second ground ends (lower ends of second radiators; ¶33, “The PTHs 250 may physically and electrically connect the base of each leg of the parasitic element 210 to the ground layer on the horizontally-extending PCB 240”), the two first open ends are far away from each other (see fig. 2J), and the two second ground ends are connected to the ground plane (¶33);
and a second antenna structure intersecting the first antenna structure (see fig. 2H) to form an angle (90 degrees) and comprising;
a third radiator (intersecting active element 220, 220X formed on substrate 230 shown in fig. 2A) comprising a second feed end (see fig. 2A, where active element 220 is connected to feeding line 260);
and two fourth radiators (210-2G comprises two portions forming the two fourth radiators) disposed symmetrically to each other and spaced apart from each other, wherein the two fourth radiators (210-2G) are disposed in parallel on one side of the third radiator (¶51, “the substrate 230, the PCB 240, and the feeding line 260 that are shown in FIG. 2A are omitted from view in FIGS. 2I-2L”) and are spaced apart from the third radiator (shown in fig. 2A), the two fourth radiators (210-2G) comprise two second open ends (upper ends) and two fourth ground ends (lower ends of fourth radiators; ¶33, “The PTHs 250 may physically and electrically connect the base of each leg of the parasitic element 210 to the ground layer on the horizontally-extending PCB 240”), the two second open ends are far away from each other (see fig. 2J), and the two fourth ground ends are connected to the ground plane (¶33)”.
Wang does not disclose, in the embodiment shown in fig. 2J, “the first radiator comprising a first ground end, wherein the first ground end is connected to the ground plane; and the third radiator comprising a third ground end, wherein the third ground end is connected to the ground plane”.
However, Wang does teach (¶25) that a conventional folded monopole antenna, which has a portion coupled to a feeding point and another portion coupled to ground, may be used in a cell phone antenna, and parasitic elements can be coupled to an active antenna element (¶27).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the antenna module of Wang shown in fig. 2J to include the first radiator comprising a first ground end, wherein the first ground end is connected to the ground plane; and the third radiator comprising a third ground end, wherein the third ground end is connected to the ground plane. Doing so provides first and third radiators which allow for an unbalanced feedline, improved efficiency and gain, and reduced noise.
Claim 3: Wang discloses the antenna module according to claim 1.
Wang discloses (fig. 2J) “wherein each of the first radiator (220), the two second radiators (210-1G), the third radiator (220), and the two fourth radiators (210-2G) has at least one bend”.
Claim 9. Wang discloses the antenna module according to claim 1.
Wang discloses “wherein the first antenna structure resonates at a frequency band, the second antenna structure resonates at the frequency band (the crossed first and second antenna portions (220X) and the first and second radiators (210-1G and 210-2G) are the same size, and can therefore resonate at the same frequency band)”.
Wang does not disclose “a length of the first radiator is 3/4 times a wavelength of the frequency band, and a length of the third radiator is 3/4 times the wavelength of the frequency band”. However, Wang does disclose, in para. [0032], that “the active element 220 may be a type (e.g., T-shaped or other shape) of monopole active element.” That is, the shapes, and therefore the lengths, of the first radiator and the third radiator can be varied according to user requirements. Also, one of ordinary skill in the antenna arts would recognize that monopoles resonate when the length of the monopole is an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide a length of the first radiator is 3/4 times a wavelength of the frequency band, and a length of the third radiator is 3/4 times the wavelength of the frequency band, in the antenna module of Wang. Doing so allows for the resonant frequency of the antenna module to be designed according to user requirements (¶56 of Wang states “The antenna 200 may be used in various systems/apparatuses, including a small-cell base station 130 (FIG. 1 ), a Wi-Fi access point 140 (FIG. 1 ), a macrocell base station 120 (FIG. 1 ), a DAS, and a cell phone (or other portable wireless electronic device, which may be, for example, inside a building 102 (FIG. 1 ))”).
Furthermore, it has been held that, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 10. Wang discloses the antenna module according to claim 1.
Wang discloses “wherein the first antenna structure resonates at a frequency band, the second structure resonates at the frequency band (¶27, “the antennas according to embodiments of the present invention may be approximately the size of a conventional T-shaped monopole that is designed to operate in a frequency band having the same center frequency as the antennas according to embodiments of the present invention. The antennas according to embodiments of the present invention may include a parasitic element, and coupling between the parasitic element and an active element of the antenna may result in an RF signal delay that expands a lower end of a frequency range of the antenna”)”.
Wang does not disclose “a distance between the two first open ends of the two second radiators is 1/2 times a wavelength of the frequency band, and a distance between the two second open ends of the two fourth radiators is 1/2 times the wavelength of the frequency band”. However, Wang does disclose in para. [0035], “The height L1, the width L2, the center frequency, and the bandwidth of the antenna 200 are not limited, however, to these example values.” That is, the size of the two second radiators and the two fourth radiators can be varied, according to the requirements of a user.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide a distance between the two first open ends of the two second radiators is 1/2 times a wavelength of the frequency band, and a distance between the two second open ends of the two fourth radiators is 1/2 times the wavelength of the frequency band, in the antenna module of Wang. Doing so allows for the resonant frequency of the antenna module to be designed according to user requirements (¶56 of Wang).
Furthermore, it has been held that, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 11. Wang discloses the antenna module according to claim 1.
Wang discloses (figs. 2A and 2J) “a first insulation plate (230), wherein the first radiator (220X) is disposed on a first surface (230F) of the first insulation plate, and the two second radiators (210-1G) are disposed on a second surface (230R) of the first insulation plate; and a second insulation plate (230), wherein the third radiator (220X) is disposed on a third surface (230F) of the second insulation plate, and the two fourth radiators (210-2G) are disposed on a fourth surface (230R) of the second insulation plate (¶51, “For simplicity of illustration, the substrate 230, the PCB 240, and the feeding line 260 that are shown in FIG. 2A are omitted from view in FIGS. 2I-2L.”. ¶30, “By printing the parasitic element 210 and the active element 220 on opposite surfaces of the substrate 230, the overall size of the antenna 200 may be reduced, as the parasitic element 210 and the active element 220 might otherwise need more space between each other to reduce coupling if they were on the same surface of the substrate 230. The substrate 230 may, in some embodiments, be one of various non-transparent substrates, such as a dielectric substrate that is not transparent”)”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4-8 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.
Regarding claim 2, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “and the third radiator straddles the first radiator and is spaced apart from the first radiator”.
Regarding claim 4, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “wherein each of the first radiator and the third radiator is in a U shape”.
Regarding claim 5, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “wherein a projection of the first radiator on a plane where the two second radiators are located partially overlaps the two second radiators, and a projection of the third radiator on a plane where the two fourth radiators are located partially overlaps the two fourth radiators”.
Regarding claim 6, patentability exists, at least in part, with the claimed features of “wherein the first radiator comprises a first section, a second section, and a third section that are connected in sequence, the first feed end is located at the first section, the first ground end is located at the third section, the third radiator comprises a sixth section, a seventh section, and an eighth section that are connected in sequence, the second feed end is located at the sixth section, the third ground end is located at the eighth section, and the seventh section straddles the second section and is spaced apart from the second section”.
Claims 7-8 are considered allowable due to their dependency on claim 6.
Conclusion
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/ANNA N HAMADYK/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/DIMARY S LOPEZ CRUZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845