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 .
The information disclosure statement 12/11/2024 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 2-3, 5-6, 11 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Huang et al. (Huang et al. – 2021/0344098; herein after referred to as “Huang”).
Regarding claim 1, 11 and 16, Huang discloses a reduced wind load antenna, the antenna comprising:
a radome having front, rear, and side surfaces; upper and lower end caps attached to upper and lower ends of the radome to define an internal cavity, radiating elements positioned within the internal cavity and configured to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals (Huang; the abstract – “A reduced wind load antenna includes: a radome having front, rear, and side surfaces; upper and lower end caps attached to upper and lower ends of the radome to define an internal cavity; and radiating elements positioned within the internal cavity and configured to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals. The antenna includes at least one airflow separation delaying feature selected from the group consisting of: large radiused corners on the lower end cap”; par. 0045 – “The antenna 100 is generally elongate and is covered by a radome 101 that includes a front surface 102 and side surfaces 104, 106, and is further covered by top and bottom end caps 108, 110. In some instances the radome 101 and end caps 108, 110 may comprise a single monolithic component, whereas in other embodiments the radome 101 and end caps 108, 110 may comprise separate pieces”); par. 0005 – 0007 - “As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a reduced wind load antenna. The antenna comprises: a radome having front, rear, and side surfaces; upper and lower end caps attached to upper and lower ends of the radome to define an internal cavity; and radiating elements positioned within the internal cavity and configured to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals”);
and at least two airflow separation delaying features, each airflow separation delaying feature coupled to and extending outwardly from a position at or adjacent to a corner of the rear surface of the radome, whereby the at least two airflow separation delaying features reduce the wind load applied normal to the front surface of the antenna and/or the wind load applied normal to the rear surface of the antenna (Huang; Fig. 11-12; par 0005; claims 1-3 – “wherein the antenna includes at least one airflow separation delaying feature selected from the group consisting of: large radiused corners on the lower end cap; a domed upper end cap ..;
2. The antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna includes at least two of the airflow separation delaying features.
3. The antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna incudes at least three of the airflow separation delaying features”;
par.0061 – “Also, in some embodiments the sides may include elongate recesses rather than protuberances. Further, if elongate protuberances 822 are to be included, they may be added to an existing antenna”).
Regarding claim 2, Huang discloses the antenna defined in Claim 1, wherein each airflow separation delaying feature extends essentially the length of the rear surface of the radome (Huang; Fig. 3-12 - each airflow separation delaying feature extends essentially the length of the rear surface of the radome).
Regarding claim 3, Huang discloses the antenna defined in Claim 1, wherein the side surfaces of the radome are slightly tapered from the front surface to the rear surface (Huang; Fig. 6 - the surfaces of the radome are slightly tapered from the front surface to the rear surface).
Regarding claim 5, Huang discloses the antenna defined in Claim 1, wherein each of the airflow separation delaying features is an elongate protuberance (Huang; Fig. 4 and 4A; par. 0054 – “Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 4A, another antenna, designated broadly at 400, is shown therein. The antenna 400 is similar to the baseline antenna 2000 of FIG. 10, but includes domed protuberances 416 on the front surface 402 of the radome 401, domed protuberances 417 on the side surfaces 404, 406, and domed protuberances 418 on the rear surface 409. In the illustrated embodiment, there are seven protuberances 416 on the front surface 402, seven protuberances 417 on the rear surface 409, and six protuberances 417 on the side surfaces 404, 406, but the number and placement of any of the protuberances 416, 417, 418 may vary. The inclusion of the domed protuberances can reduce the frontal wind load on the antenna 400 compared with the antenna 2000”).
Regarding claim 6, Huang discloses the antenna defined in Claim 4, wherein the at least two airflow separation delaying features extend essentially the entire length of the side surfaces of the radome (Huang; Fig. 11-12; par 0005; claims 1-3 – “wherein the antenna includes at least one airflow separation delaying feature selected from the group consisting of: large radiused corners on the lower end cap; a domed upper end cap ..;
2. The antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna includes at least two of the airflow separation delaying features.
3. The antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna incudes at least three of the airflow separation delaying features”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
Claim 4, 7-10, and 12-15 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
i. the prior fails to discloses the antenna as recited in claim 1 further comprising at least four airflow separation delaying features and having the arrangement as recited in claim 4.
ii. The prior art fails to discloses the antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the at least two airflow separation delaying features extend longitudinally over 10 to 25 percent of a length of the radome as recited in claim 7.
iii. The prior art fails to discloses the antenna defined in claim 1, wherein the at least two airflow separation delaying features extend longitudinally over 50 to 100 percent of a length of the radome as recited in claim 8.
iv. The prior art fails to disclose antenna defined in Claim 1, further comprising a shield configured to be secured to the rear surface of the radome and having the characteristics as recited in claim 9 (claim 10 depends on claim 9).
v. The prior art fails to disclose the antenna defined in Claim 11, wherein the at least one wind load reduction insert further comprises one or more compressible sections coupled to opposing sides of the main bod and having the features as recited in claim 12 (claim 13 recites
vi. The prior art fails to discloses the antenna defined in Claim 11, wherein the recesses of the wind load reduction insert have a triangular shape as recited in claim 14.
vii. The prior art fails to disclose the antenna defined in Claim 11, wherein the sharp edges extend parallel to each other along a width of the main body of the wind load reduction insert as recited in claim 15.
viii. The prior art fails to disclose a reduced wind load antenna as recited in claim 17 having the wind load reduction insert having a main body comprising one or more pairs of protruding ribs extending outwardly from the main body, each rib being spaced apart from each other and extending along a width of the main body at an oblique angle (claim 18-20 depend on claim 17).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN MINH LE whose telephone number is (571)272-2396. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-5:00 PM M-Th..
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/THIEN M LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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