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 .
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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the capacitor connected in parallel to an input-side switch of the N-path filter of claim 13 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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
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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sandberg (US 3,081,434).
In regard to Claim 1:
Sandberg discloses, in Figure 1, an N-path filter comprising:
a first input-output terminal (10) and a second input-output terminal (21); and
N-number signal paths (X1(t) – Xn(t)) connected in parallel to each other (X1(t), X2(t), Xn(t) are in parallel) between the first input-output terminal (10) and the second input-output terminal (21), N being an integer not less than three (N = 3; X1(t), X2(t), Xn(t));
wherein each of the N-number signal paths (X1(t) – Xn(t)) includes:
a first modulator (11-13) connected to the first input-output terminal (10) to modulate an input signal (h1(t)) supplied from the first input-output terminal (10) or the second input-output terminal;
a second modulator (17-19) connected to the second input-output terminal (21) to modulate the input signal (h1(t)) in the same phase as that of the first modulator (Column 2: lines 30-35); and
a base filter (14-16) connected between the first modulator (11-13 respectively) and the second modulator (17-19 respectively);
the first modulator (11-13) and the second modulator (17-19) are operable to modulate the input signal (h1(t)) in a phase of one period defined by different phases of the different N-number signal paths (Column 2: lines 35-42); and
the base filter (14-16) includes a band pass filter including only passive elements (Column 5: lines 10-38).
In regard to Claim 9
Sandberg discloses, in Figure 1, the N-path filter according to Claim 1, wherein the base filter includes an inductor and a capacitor (Column 1: lines 36-45).
In regard to Claim 15:
Sandberg discloses, in Figure 1, the N-path filter according to Claim 1, wherein the base filter (14-16) is a band pass filter (Column 5: lines 10-38) including no series inductor connected to an input-side switch of the N-path (there is no inductor connected to the input side switch of the N-path).
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sandberg (US 3,081,434), in view of Ichihara (US 5,491,453).
In regard to Claim 2:
All of the claim limitations have been discussed with respect to Claim 1 above, except for wherein the first modulator includes a first switch to switch between connection and non-connection between the first input-output terminal and the base filter in response to a driving signal; and the second modulator includes a second switch to switch between connection and non-connection between the second input-output terminal and the base filter at the same timing as that of the first switch in response to the driving signal.
Ichihara discloses, in Figure 3, wherein the first modulator includes a first switch (14-1) to switch between connection and non-connection between the first input-output terminal (11) and the base filter (13-1) in response to a driving signal (S1); and the second modulator includes a second switch (15-1) to switch between connection and non-connection between the second input-output terminal (12) and the base filter (13-1) at the same timing as that of the first switch (14-1) in response to the driving signal (S1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to use the switches taught by Ichihara with the modulators taught by Sandberg, in order to detect a plurality of tone signals, such as SAT signals which are used for the mobile radio telephone system of the AMPS type and which have extremely small frequency differences (Ishihara Column 10: lines 1-4).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sandberg (US 3,081,434), in view of Nagulu et al. (US 11,349,186).
In regard to Claim 11:
All of the claim limitations have been discussed with respect to Claim 1 above, except for wherein the base filter is an acoustic wave filter.
Nagulu discloses wherein the base filter is an acoustic wave filter (Column 8: lines 47-53).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to use the acoustic wave filter taught by Nagulu with the base filter taught by Sandberg, in order to reduce the clock frequency and design even higher linearity circulators through the use of high voltage technologies and high linearity switch design techniques (Nagulu Column 8: lines 53-57).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8, 10, and 12-14 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 prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Paganelli (US 2014/0043177) discloses an apparatus for converting a continuous-time, continuously variable signal into a sampled and quantized signal, which includes an input line for accepting an input signal, multiple processing branches coupled to the input line, and an adder coupled to outputs of the plurality of processing branches. Each of the processing branches includes a sampling/quantization circuit and a digital bandpass interpolation filter having an input coupled to an output of the sampling/quantization circuit. The digital bandpass interpolation filters in different ones of the processing branches have frequency responses that are centered at different frequencies. The digital bandpass interpolation filter in at least one of the processing branches includes: (i) a quadrature downconverter, (ii) a first lowpass filter and a second lowpass filter, (iii) a first interpolator and a second interpolator, each having an input for inputting a variable interpolant value, and (iv) a quadrature upconverter.
Ross et al. (US 2018/0278441) discloses a multipath filter that includes multiple filter paths or circuit branches that are electrically connected in parallel with one another between an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal receives an input signal, and each filter circuit branch includes a double-in double-switched (DIDS) downconverter that downconverts the input signal with two different clock signal phases to generate a downconverted signal. Each filter circuit branch further includes a filter network that generates a filtered signal by filtering the downconverted signal and an upconverter that upconverts the filtered signal to generate a branch output signal. Additionally, the branch output signals from the filter circuit branches are combined to generate an output signal at the output terminal.
Rogers et al. (US 10,484,211) discloses a multipath bandpass filter that includes multiple filter circuit branches or paths that are electrically connected in parallel with one another between an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal receives an input signal, and each filter circuit branch includes a downconverter that downconverts the input signal to generate a downconverted signal, a filter network that generates a filtered signal by filtering the downconverted signal, and an upconverter that upconverts the filtered signal to generate a branch output signal. The filter network includes at least one low pass filter and at least one notch filter to provide a passband with in-band notches. The branch output signals from the filter circuit branches are combined to generate an output signal at the output terminal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John W Poos whose telephone number is (571)270-5077. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8-5.
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, Jessica Han can be reached at 571-272-2078. 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.
/JOHN W POOS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896