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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 22, 2025 has been considered by the examiner. An initialed copy of the IDS is included with this Office Action.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
in FIGs. 4-8B, the examiner suggests changing “RF 470” to “RF backend 470” in order to be consistent with the detailed description; and
in FIGs. 9-11, 21 and 22, the examiner suggests changing “RF 2170” to “OSC 2170” (see “central oscillator 2170” in paragraph [0115], line 11).
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: “1510” in FIG. 15.
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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
in paragraph [0001], line 3, “, now U.S. Patent 12,284,064” should be inserted after “October 7, 2024”;
in paragraph [0095], line 3, “for the up to” should be “for up to”;
in paragraph [0106], the description of FIG. 9 does not include a description of reference number “2170”;
in paragraph [0108], the description of FIG. 10 does not include a description of reference number “2210”;
in paragraph [0115], line 4, there should be a period after “460”;
in paragraph [0115], line 11, “and” should be inserted after “DAC 1110”;
in paragraph [0123], “1401” on lines 7 and 10, respectively, should be “1601” (see FIG. 16); and
in paragraph [0131], line 3, “in a antenna channel modules” should be “in antenna channel modules” or “in an antenna channel module”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claim 1, line 1, the comma after “transmitter” should be deleted;
in claim 1, line 10, “modulator, configured” should be “modulator and configured”;
in claim 1, line 22, “, respectively” should be inserted after “signal”;
in claim 3, line 1, “an antenna channel module” should be “each antenna channel module” (see claim 1, lines 28-29);
in claim 4, line 2, the comma after “rotator” should be deleted;
in claim 4, line 10, the comma after “multiplier” should be deleted;
in claim 5, line 3, the comma after “beamformer” should be deleted;
in claim 5, line 6, “digital Fourier” should be “discrete Fourier”;
in claim 5, “an SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 10 should be “an inverse discrete Fourier transform circuit (an IDFT circuit)” and “the SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 12 should be “the IDFT circuit”;
in claim 8, line 10, a comma should be added after “adders”;
in claim 9, line 1, the comma after “transmitter” should be deleted;
in claim 9, line 10, “modulator, configured” should be “modulator and configured”;
in claim 9, line 29, “, respectively” should be inserted after “signal”;
in claim 9, line 30, the comma after “(a first DAC)” should be deleted;
in claim 11, line 2, the comma after “rotator” should be deleted;
in claim 11, line 10, the comma after “multiplier” should be deleted;
in claim 12, line 1, “an antenna channel module” should be “each antenna channel module”;
in claim 13, line 1, “an antenna channel module” should be “each antenna channel module” (see claim 9, lines 22-23);
in claim 13, “an SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 10 should be “an inverse discrete Fourier transform circuit (an IDFT circuit)” and “the SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 12 should be “the IDFT circuit”;
in claim 14, line 1, “an antenna channel module” should be “each antenna channel module” (see claim 9, lines 22-23);
in claim 14, line 3, the comma after “DAC” should be deleted;
in claim 15, line 1, “an antenna channel module” should be “each antenna channel module” (see claim 9, lines 22-23);
in claim 15, line 3, the comma after “DAC” should be deleted;
in claim 16, line 1, the comma after “transmitter” should be deleted;
in claim 17, line 2, the comma after “rotator” should be deleted;
in claim 17, line 10, the comma after “fourth multiplier” should be deleted;
in claim 18, line 1, the comma after “transmitter” should be deleted;
in claim 18, line 19, “, respectively” should be inserted after “signal”;
in claim 18, line 26, “producing” should be “and configured to produce”;
in claim 19, “an SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 9 should be “an inverse discrete Fourier transform circuit (an IDFT circuit)” and “the SSB prep unit IDFT circuit” on line 11 should be “the IDFT circuit”; and
dependent claim(s) are objected to under the same ground(s) as the claim(s) from which it depends.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regard to claim 4, it is unclear if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are “included” in the “phase rotator” on lines 1-2 or if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are part of the “first beamformer” on line 1 (i.e. the “first beamformer” comprises a phase rotator, a subtractor and an adder).
With regard to claim 9, the recitation that the first second-level modulator receives and multiplies “the first directed BB Re signal and the first directed BB Im signal” (see lines 24-29) is inconsistent with the first beamformer that obtains “a first directed BB Re signal and/or the first directed BB Im signal” (see lines 17-21). Lines 24-29 recites the reception of two signals whereas lines 18-21 encompasses an embodiment wherein only one of the two signals are obtained. The examiner suggests changing “and/or” on line 21 to “and” to overcome this rejection.
With regard to claim 11, it is unclear if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are “included” in the “phase rotator” on lines 1-2 or if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are part of the “first beamformer” on line 1 (i.e. the “first beamformer” comprises a phase rotator, a subtractor and an adder).
With regard to claim 16, the recitation that a “first DAC receives “the first directed BB Re signal” (see line 21) and a “second DAC” receives the first directed BB Im signal” (see lines 23-24) is inconsistent with the first beamformer obtaining “a first directed BB Re signal and/or the first directed BB Im signal” (see lines 14-18). Lines 24-29 recites the reception of two signals whereas lines 14-18 encompasses an embodiment wherein only one of the two signals are obtained. The examiner suggests changing “and/or” on line 18 to “and” to overcome this rejection.
With regard to claim 17, it is unclear if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are “included” in the “phase rotator” on line 2 or if “a subtractor…” and “an adder…” on lines 7-10 are part of the “first beamformer” on line 1 (i.e. the “first beamformer” comprises a phase rotator, a subtractor and an adder).
With regard to claim 18, it is unclear if “an output of the first second-level demodulator” on line 33 is intended to refer “an output of the first second-level demodulator” on line 31 (i.e. “an output” on line 33 should be “the output”) or to another different output of the “first second-level demodulator.” Based on the FIG. 11, the examiner suggests changing “an output of the first second-level demodulator” on line 31 to “a first output of the first second-level demodulator” and “an output of the first second-level demodulator” on line 33 to “a second output of the first second-level demodulator” to overcome this rejection.
Dependent claim(s) are rejected under the same ground(s) as the claim(s) from which it depends.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 5-8 allowable if rewritten to overcome the claim objections.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Dent (US Patent No. 6,404,821 B2) discloses a transmitter with a modulation waveform generator, a beamforming processor and a quadrature modulator.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Betsy Deppe whose telephone number is 571-272-3054. The examiner can normally be reached Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 am - 3:00 pm (ET).
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, Sam Ahn can be reached at 571-272-3044. 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.
/BETSY DEPPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
Prosecution Insights