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 § 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, 3-4, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lam et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20120037420, made of record in IDS dated 22 October 2025), hereinafter known as Lam.
Regarding claim 1, Lam discloses (Figs. 1-6) a frequency selective surface (100) comprising a substrate (102) having a first region (layer which 100 lies) and a second region (layer which 650 lies); at least one first conductor pattern (100) arranged in the first region of the substrate, the at least one first conductor (100) pattern including a plurality of first cells (fig.1A), each of the first cells being formed by a plurality of first conductive lines (106); and at least one second conductor pattern (650) arranged in the second region of the substrate (see Fig. 6), the at least one second conductor pattern including a plurality of second cells, each of the second cells being formed by a plurality of second conductive lines (see Fig. 6), the plurality of first cells being configured such that the first cells adjacent to each other are electrically continuous with each other (see Fig. 6), the at least one first conductor patter being configured such that an overall size of the first conductor pattern is smaller than a wavelength of electromagnetic waves entering the frequency selective surface and is a size capable of reflecting the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves ([0023]), the plurality of second cells being configured such that the second conductive lines forming the second cells adjacent to each other are not electrically continuous with each other ([0039]), the at least one second conductor pattern being configured such that a size of each of the second cells is smaller than the overall size of the first conductor pattern and is a size capable of transmitting the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves ([0037]).
Regarding claim 3, Lam discloses (Figs. 1-6) that plurality of second conductive lines are configured to extend along a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction (the second conductive members of 650 are forming crosses), and a space between an end of the second conductive line extending along the first direction and the second conductive line extending along the second direction is set to be 1 µm or more in the first direction (see Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 4, Lam discloses (Figs. 1-6) a substrate formed in a film shape is anticipated by D1 (Section II.A: epoxy resin substrate), D2 (non-conductive substrate).
Regarding claim 8, Lam discloses (Figs. 1-6) that the substrate has a plurality of the first conductor patterns, the plurality of first conductor patterns are spaced apart from each other on the substrate, and each of the plurality of first conductor patterns is provided with a connecting element (130) configured to connect electrically each of the plurality of first conductor patterns
and an external control circuit (via second signal 122)
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) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lam.
Lam teaches the limitations of claim 4, but does not teach further details of the substrate.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art include grooves in the substrate since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to employ/use a known technique to improve similar devices (methods, products) in the same way is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) Including grooves in the substrate to accommodate the conductors ensures the substrate remains level, simplifying integration.
Regarding claim 6, Lam teaches (Figs. 1-6) the main component of a conductive material forming the conductive layer of each first conductive line being the same as a main component of a conductive material forming the conductive layer of each second conductive line ([0028]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lam as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Voeltzel (U.S. Patent Application No. 20030080909, made of record in IDS dated 22 October 2025), hereinafter known as Voeltzel.
Lam teaches the limitations of claim 5, but does not teach a blackened layer.
Voeltzel teaches (Figs. 1-6) wherein each of the first conductive lines and the second conductive lines further includes a blackened layer stacked on the conductive layer on an opening side of the recessed groove (22, [0003] [0026]-[0027]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use the blackened layer of Voeltzel on the conducting layer of Lam because it ([0006]) “reduce[s] heat build-up in the interior of the vehicle”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
Oh et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20220200157) teaches a mesh reflective pattern.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dimary Lopez can be reached at 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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/DANIEL MUNOZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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