DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figures 3E - Figures 6 are missing. 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)(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.
Claims 11, 14 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Parsche (9,825,357).
Regarding claim 11, Parsche in figs 1-13 discloses a patch antenna 33 comprising: an electrically conductive ground plane 32; a substrate 31 disposed on the ground plane; a radiator 33 disposed on the substrate, the radiator comprising a first portion 35a and a second portion 35b, wherein the first portion of the radiator is coupled through an opening 36a in an interior region of the patch antenna to a first leg 52a of a differential feed 64, the differential feed configured to provide a signal to drive the radiator; and a delay element 51, wherein the second portion of the radiator is coupled via the delay element and further through the opening of the patch antenna to a second leg 52b of the differential feed.
Parsche also discloses the delay element is a delay line of a length selected to introduce a 180 degree phase shift to the signal (col 13, lines 9-12), wherein the differential feed is a coaxial cable 61 or a microstrip transmission line and wherein the patch antenna is a printed circuit board (PCB) and the opening in the interior region of the patch antenna is a via through the ground plane and the substrate (fig3).
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 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Parsche (9,825,357).
Parsche had been discussed but fails to teach the delay element is a lumped element circuit comprising one or more capacitive elements and/or inductive elements; and the delay element is a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skilled in the art to provide Parsche with the delay element is a lumped element circuit comprising one or more capacitive elements and/or inductive elements; and the delay element is a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) for the purpose of improving the antenna gain.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 and 20 are allowed.
Claims 12 and 16-17 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. The patents to Belgiovane, Bulja, Haziza, Weily, Day and Iwasaki are cited as of interested and illustrated a similar structure to a patch antenna.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THO GIA PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1826. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8-430).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dimary Lopez can be reached on (571) 270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THO G PHAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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