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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 3 and 7-10 (Species II) is acknowledged.
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 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Tianang” (US 12166297).
Claim 7: Tianang discloses a millimeter wave antenna module, comprising a millimeter wave antenna 214 (Fig. 3, col. 11, ll. 20-48) and at least one focusing lens 220, wherein the millimeter wave antenna is disposed within a first lens focusing area (surrounded by reflector 211) of the at least one focusing lens (para. bridging cols. 7 and 8).
Claim 8: Tianang teaches wherein the millimeter wave antenna includes at least one microstrip patch antenna unit (col. 5, ll. 45-64).
Tianang fails to expressly teach wherein the at least one focusing lens is configured as a ceramic focusing lens, a mica focusing lens, a glass focusing lens or a plastic focusing lens, and the at least one focusing lens has a thickness between 1000 µm and 3000µm.
However, Tianang teaches “Lens element 220 comprises an RF-refracting material which allows passage of RF energy therethrough to reach feed array 213. Various configurations, thicknesses, diameters, radii of curvatures, and positioning of lens element 220 can be provided, and can depend on the application and may be empirically determined to provide a threshold level of aperture efficiency performance.” (Col. 8, second para.)
Nevertheless, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCP A 1980).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tianang’s invention such that wherein the at least one focusing lens is configured as a ceramic focusing lens, a mica focusing lens, a glass focusing lens or a plastic focusing lens, and the at least one focusing lens has a thickness between 1000 µm and 3000µm, in order to obtain a threshold level of aperture efficiency performance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 9-10 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.
Fanfelle (US 11532891)
Oh (US 10116058)
Thiagarajan (US 10784586)
Hand (US 12537316)
Yang (US 12218426)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HASAN ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)270-1719. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thu 9AM-7PM EST.
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.
/HASAN ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
Prosecution Insights