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 .
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) 1-3, 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Enokuma US 6,522,215.
1. Enokuma discloses an antenna feed network (field of use of the waveguide, Col. 1 lines 8-14), comprising:
an asymmetric annular waveguide (Figs. 1, 3, 8A-H; etc.) coupled between first and second cylindrical waveguides (sections immediate at input and output sides),
wherein the asymmetric annular waveguide is configured to transform a linearly polarized signal propagating in the first cylindrical waveguide into a circularly polarized signal propagating in the second cylindrical waveguide (Col. 8 lines 48-67; note that septum polarizer converts linearly polarized signal to circularly polarized signal and vice versa; e.g., see Gould US 4,126,835 abstract).
2. The antenna feed network of claim 1, the annular waveguide comprising a center conductor (septum 22) with a non-circular cross-sectional shape (Fig. 10).
3. The antenna feed network of claim 2, wherein the center conductor has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape (Fig. 10).
9. Enokuma discloses an antenna feed network (field of use of the waveguide, Col. 1 lines 8-14), comprising:
a cylindrical waveguide (Figs. 1, 3, 8A-H, etc.) having circular cross-section (see Fig. 8A-H) and a length having a first portion, a central portion and a second end portion (sections immediate at input and output sides are the first and second sections, with the central portion being the sections therebetween); and
a center conductor (septum 22) within the central portion of the cylindrical waveguide, wherein the center conductor is configured to transform a linearly polarized signal propagating in the first end portion of the cylindrical waveguide into a circularly polarized signal propagating in the second end portion of the cylindrical waveguide (Col. 8 lines 48-67; note that septum polarizer converts linearly polarized signal to circularly polarized signal and vice versa; e.g., see Gould US 4,126,835 abstract).
10. The antenna feed network of claim 9, wherein the center conductor has a non-circular cross-sectional shape (Fig. 10).
11. The antenna feed network of claim 10, wherein the center conductor has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape (Fig. 10).
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.
Claim(s) 4, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Enokuma US 6,522,215.
4, 12. Enokuma discloses the invention as discussed above, but does not disclose the center conductor is symmetric about orthogonal first and second planes, the first and second planes intersecting at an axis of the first and second cylindrical waveguides.
However, Enokuma also discloses in other embodiment (Fig. 13) that septum section being symmetric about orthogonal first and second planes, the first and second planes intersecting at an axis of the first and second cylindrical waveguides (i.e., first plane bisects the structure into top and bottom parts; second plane bisects the structure into left and right parts; the first and second planes would intersect at a central axis, thus axis of the waveguide when it is replaced at the center septum 22).
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have replaced the septum with the stepped structure (Fig. 10) with a gradually tapered symmetric in two planes structure (Fig. 13). The modification would have been obvious as a simple substitution of septum structure as taught by Enokuma (Figs. 10, 13; Col. 13 lines 19-24).
Claim(s) 8, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Enokuma US 6,522,215 in view of Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA Fig. 1).
8, 16. Enokuma discloses the invention as discussed above, but does not disclose a secondary reflector disposed to receive the circularly polarized signal from the second circular waveguide; and a primary reflector disposed to receive the circularly polarized signal reflected from the secondary reflector.
AAPA Fig. 1 discloses an antenna feed network comprising: a waveguide (112), a secondary reflector (120) disposed to receive the circularly polarized signal from the second end of the cylindrical waveguide; and a primary reflector (130) disposed to receive the circularly polarized signal reflected from the secondary reflector.
At the time of the filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have to use the waveguide in antenna feed network with primary and secondary reflectors. The modification would have been obvious as art recognized antenna feed network design as taught by AAPA Fig. 1 useable thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 13-15 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALAN WONG whose telephone number is (571)272-3238. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10am - 7:00pm.
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/A.W/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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