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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1-20 and 33 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-23 of co-pending application No. 19/081,958. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-23 of co-pending application No. 19/081,958 encompasses the limitations of claims 1-20 and 33 of instant application. Moreover, omission of a reference element whose function is not needed would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. It is well settled that the omission of an element and its functions is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements performs the same function as before In re Karison, 163 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1963). Also note Ex parte Rainu, 168 uspq 375 (Bd. App. 1969).
More specifically, the claims 1-20 and 33 of the present application are same scope, same function and same results as claims 1-23 of co-pending application No. 19/081,958. In addition, even though the claims of present application omitted or simply rearranged claimed structure, or added the limitation using similar claimed elements, the function and results of claimed invention of the co-pending application No. 19/081,958 is same as claimed invention of the present application.
In addition, the independent claims 1, 17, and 33 of the present application is the same invention as the independent claims 15 and 23 of the US Patent No. 19/081,958. The subject matter in the instant application is fully disclosed in the co-pending application No. 19/081,958 and is covered by the co-pending application No. 19/081,958 since the co-pending application No. 19/081,958 and the instant application are claiming common subject matter, as follows, and the difference of the limitations are wordings differently.
Instant Application
U.S. Co-pending Application #19/081,958
1. A method for calibrating antenna elements of phased array antennas, the method comprising:
obtaining a first mutual coupling measurement associated with a first over-the-air (OTA) signal path between a first antenna element and a second antenna element;
obtaining a second mutual coupling measurement associated with a second OTA signal path between a third antenna element and the second antenna element;
obtaining a third mutual coupling measurement associated with a third OTA signal path between the first antenna element and a fourth antenna element, wherein the third OTA signal path is reciprocal to the second OTA signal path;
obtaining a fourth mutual coupling measurement associated with a fourth OTA signal path between the third antenna element and the fourth antenna element, wherein an antenna lattice of a phased array antenna comprises a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements, the plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements including the first antenna element, the second antenna element, the third antenna element, and the fourth antenna element; and
determining, based on the first mutual coupling measurement, the second mutual coupling measurement, the third mutual coupling measurement, and the fourth mutual coupling measurement, at least one of a phase correction factor or a gain correction factor between a complex gain of the first antenna element and a complex gain of the third antenna element.
15. A method for calibrating antenna elements, the method comprising:
obtaining a first mutual coupling measurement associated with a first over-the-air (OTA) signal path between a first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a first antenna element and a second antenna element functional receive (RX) port of a second antenna element, wherein the first antenna element comprises the first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a first antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the second antenna element comprises a second antenna element functional transmit port and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
obtaining a second mutual coupling measurement associated with a second OTA signal path between a third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a third antenna element and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port, wherein the third antenna element comprises the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a third antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
obtaining a third mutual coupling measurement associated with a third OTA signal path between a fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a fourth antenna element and a fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of a fifth antenna element, wherein the fourth antenna element comprises a fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and the fifth antenna element comprises the fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and a fifth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port;
obtaining a fourth mutual coupling measurement associated with a fourth OTA signal path between the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the third antenna element and the fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the fourth antenna element, wherein an antenna lattice comprises a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements including the first antenna element, the second antenna element, the third antenna element, the fourth antenna element, and the fifth antenna element; and
determining, based on the first mutual coupling measurement, the second mutual coupling measurement, the third mutual coupling measurement, the fourth mutual coupling measurement, and one or more redundancies, at least one of a phase correction factor or an amplitude correction factor between a complex gain of the first antenna element and a complex gain of the third antenna element.
17. An apparatus for calibrating antenna elements of phased array antennas comprising:
a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements included in an antenna lattice,
the plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements comprising a first antenna element, a second antenna element, a third antenna element, and a fourth antenna element; and
one or more calibration components configured to: obtain a first mutual coupling measurement associated with a first OTA signal path between the first antenna element and the second antenna element;
obtain a second mutual coupling measurement associated with a second OTA signal path between the third antenna element and the second antenna element;
obtain a third mutual coupling measurement associated with a third OTA signal path between the first antenna element and the fourth antenna element, wherein the third OTA signal path is reciprocal to the second OTA signal path;
obtain a fourth mutual coupling measurement associated with a fourth OTA signal path between the third antenna element and the fourth antenna element; and
determine, based on the first mutual coupling measurement, the second mutual coupling measurement, the third mutual coupling measurement, and the fourth mutual coupling measurement, at least one of a phase correction factor or a gain correction factor between a complex gain of the first antenna element and a complex gain of the third antenna element.
23. An apparatus for calibrating antenna elements, the apparatus comprising: an antenna lattice comprising
a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements including a first antenna element, a second antenna element, a third antenna element, a fourth antenna element, and a fifth antenna element;
an done or more calibration components configured to: obtain a first mutual coupling measurement associated with a first OTA signal path between a first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the first antenna element and a second antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the second antenna element, wherein the first antenna element comprises the first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a first antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the second antenna element comprises a second antenna element functional transmit port and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
obtain a second mutual coupling measurement associated with a second OTA signal path between a third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the third antenna element and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port, wherein the third antenna element comprises the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a third antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
obtain a third mutual coupling measurement associated with a third OTA signal path between a fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the fourth antenna element and a fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the fifth antenna element, wherein the fourth antenna element comprises a fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and the fifth antenna element comprises the fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and a fifth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port;
obtain a fourth mutual coupling measurement associated with a fourth OTA signal path between the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the third antenna element and the fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the fourth antenna element; and
determine, based on the first mutual coupling measurement, the second mutual coupling measurement, the third mutual coupling measurement, the fourth mutual coupling measurement, and one or more redundancies, at least one of a phase correction factor or an amplitude correction factor between a complex gain of the first antenna element and a complex gain of the third antenna element.
33. A method of calibrating antenna elements for phased array antennas comprising:
obtaining a first plurality of mutual coupling measurements, wherein each mutual coupling measurement of the first plurality of mutual coupling measurements corresponds to a respective OTA signal path associated with a first geometric relationship between pairs of antenna elements of an antenna lattice
obtaining a second plurality of mutual coupling measurements, wherein each mutual coupling measurement of the second plurality of mutual coupling measurements corresponds to a respective OTA signal path associated with a second geometric relationship between pairs of antenna elements of the antenna lattice, wherein the second geometric relationship is reciprocal to the first geometric relationship;
wherein the antenna lattice comprises a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements including the pairs of antenna elements; and
determining, based on the first plurality of mutual coupling measurements and the second plurality of mutual coupling measurements at least one of a phase correction factor or a gain correction factor between a complex gain of a first antenna element of the plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements and a complex gain of a second antenna element of the plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements.
15. A method for calibrating antenna elements, the method comprising:
obtaining a first mutual coupling measurement associated with a first over-the-air (OTA) signal path between a first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a first antenna element and a second antenna element functional receive (RX) port of a second antenna element,
21. “The method of claim 15, wherein: the third OTA signal path corresponds to a first geometric relationship between first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the first antenna element and the fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the fourth antenna element”;
15……..wherein the first antenna element comprises the first antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a first antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the second antenna element comprises a second antenna element functional transmit port and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
obtaining a second mutual coupling measurement associated with a second OTA signal path between a third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a third antenna element and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port, wherein the third antenna element comprises the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and a third antenna element functional receive (RX) port;
21…… “the second OTA signal path corresponds to a second geometric relationship between the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the third antenna element and the second antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the second antenna element, the second geometric relationship being different from the first geometric relationship”.
15…..obtaining a third mutual coupling measurement associated with a third OTA signal path between a fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of a fourth antenna element and a fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of a fifth antenna element, wherein the fourth antenna element comprises a fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and the fourth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port and the fifth antenna element comprises the fifth antenna element functional receive (RX) port and a fifth antenna element functional transmit (TX) port;
obtaining a fourth mutual coupling measurement associated with a fourth OTA signal path between the third antenna element functional transmit (TX) port of the third antenna element and the fourth antenna element functional receive (RX) port of the fourth antenna element,
wherein an antenna lattice comprises a plurality of periodically spaced antenna elements including the first antenna element, the second antenna element, the third antenna element, the fourth antenna element, and the fifth antenna element; and
determining, based on the first mutual coupling measurement, the second mutual coupling measurement, the third mutual coupling measurement, the fourth mutual coupling measurement, and one or more redundancies, at least one of a phase correction factor or an amplitude correction factor between a complex gain of the first antenna element and a complex gain of the third antenna element.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zheng et al. (US Patent #8,798,695), Taher et al. (US Patent #12,586,924), Deckert et al. (US Patent #12,375,188), Jidhage et al. (US Patent #12,130,317), Liorens Dei Rio et al. (US Patent #12,068,809), Aue (US Patent #11,606,125), Islam el al. (US 2017/0356980), Webb (US 2011/0006949), and Yetisir (US Patent #11,489,252).
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/DOMINIC E REGO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648 Tel 571-272-8132
