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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-2, 4-7, 12-16, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luk et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20170025760), hereinafter known as Luk, in view of Komura et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20200295464), hereinafter known as Komura.
Regarding claim 1, Luk teaches (Fig. 11) an antenna module, comprising: a first substrate (106) that includes a first substrate body (204) containing a first insulating material, and an antenna layer (208) disposed at the first substrate body (see Fig. 11); and a second substrate (104-1104) that includes a second substrate body (206) having a plurality of second insulator layers containing a second insulating material (202) and laminated in a direction along a Z-axis (see Fig. 11), a signal conductor layer (1106) disposed at the second substrate body, and at least one first ground conductor layer (102a, 102b) disposed at the second substrate body (see Fig. 11), wherein at least one of the first insulating material or the second insulating material is a thermoplastic resin ([0037]), the first substrate body has a first positive main surface (top of 106) and a first negative main surface (bottom of 106) positioned in a negative direction along the Z-axis from the first positive main surface (see Fig. 11),the second substrate body has a second positive main surface (top of 104)and a second negative main surface (bottom of 1104) positioned in the negative direction along the I-axis from the second positive main surface (see Fig. 11), the second positive main surface is in contact with the first negative main surface (see Fig. 11),the at least one first ground conductor layer is positioned in a positive direction along the Z-axis from the signal conductor layer, the at least one first ground conductor layer is not positioned at the second positive main surface (see Fig. 11), the at least one first ground conductor layer partially overlaps the antenna layer when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis (see Fig. 11), a first substrate area in which the first substrate is disposed has an unoccupied-by-ground-conductor-layer area (1102) in which the at least one first ground conductor layer is not disposed when viewed in the negative direction along the Z- axis (see Fig. 11), the signal conductor layer overlaps the unoccupied-by- ground-conductor-layer area when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis (see Fig. 11), and at a portion in the unoccupied-by-ground-conductor- layer area in the positive direction along the Z-axis from the signal conductor layer, no conductor other than the antenna layer covers an entirety of the unoccupied-by-ground-conductor-layer area (see Fig. 11).
Luk does not teach further details of the antenna layer.
Komura teaches (Figs. 1-9) a first substrate (upper portion of 20) that includes a first substrate body containing a first insulating material, and a radiating conductor layer (11) disposed at the first substrate body (see Fig. 3B); and a second substrate (lower portion of 20) that includes a second substrate body, a signal conductor layer (141, 142) disposed at the second substrate body (see Fig. 3B), and at least one first ground conductor layer (13) disposed at the second substrate body (see Fig. 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use the radiating conductor layer of Komura in the antenna apparatus of Luk since it has been held that the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) Using a rectangular conductive layer for a patch antenna is within the purview of a skilled artisan because it is easy to design for a specific frequency.
Regarding claim 2, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein a dielectric constant of the second insulating material is lower than a dielectric constant of the first insulating material ([0035] different materials can be used).
Regarding claim 4, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein a thickness of the second substrate in a direction along the Z-axis is smaller than a thickness of the first substrate in the direction along the Z-axis ([0040]).
Regarding claim 5, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein a Young's modulus of the second insulating material is lower than a Young's modulus of the first insulating material ([0035], different materials can be used).
Regarding claim 6, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the first substrate body has a first side surface that connects the first positive main surface and the first negative main surface to each other (see Fig. 11), and wherein the first side surface is in contact with the second substrate body (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 7, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the second substrate body has a first section that overlaps the first substrate when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis, and a second section that does not overlap the first substrate when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis, and wherein a portion of the first ground conductor layer in the second section is positioned in the positive direction along the Z-axis from the first negative main surface (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claims 12 and 13, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein an edge defined by the first side surface and the first negative main surface has one or more steps (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the first insulating material is a thermoplastic resin ([0040]).
Regarding claim 16, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the second substrate has a first section that overlaps the first substrate when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis, and a second section that does not overlap the first substrate when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis, and wherein the second section of the second substrate is bent when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the Z-axis (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 18, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the signal conductor layer extends along an X- axis,wherein a Y-axis is orthogonal to the X-axis and the Z- axis, andwherein the unoccupied-by-ground-conductor-layer area is surrounded by the first ground conductor layer when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis (see Fig. 11, cross section of slot).
Regarding claim 20, Luk further teaches (Fig. 11) wherein the second substrate further includes a second ground conductor layer (part of PCB 1104, [0051]) disposed at the second substrate body (see Fig. 11), the second ground conductor layer is positioned in the negative direction along the Z-axis from the signal conductor layer (see Fig. 11, and the second ground conductor layer overlaps the radiating conductor layer when viewed in the negative direction along the Z-axis (see Fig. 11).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 8-11, 17, and 19 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.
Yanagi (U.S. Patent Application No. 20190312354) teaches an antenna module.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL MUNOZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1957. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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/DANIEL MUNOZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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