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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in JP on 09/28/2022. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/26/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 9 is 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.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the feeding conductor extends from the one side of sides forming the polygonal shape" in lines 2-3 which render the claim indefinite. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Moreover, it is not clear how the one side relates to one side portion of the conductor plate recited in claim 1.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "a width length of a lower end portion of at least one of the feeding conductor or the ground conductor is 50% or less of a length of the side to which the at least one is connected" in lines 2-3 which render the claim indefinite. It is not clear how this side opposite the one side of the sides There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitations “the side” and “the at least one” in the claim. It is not clear what the side and the at least one are referred to. For the purpose of examination, Examiner interprets the claim as best understood.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)&(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sampo et al, WO-2018110463-A1 (hereinafter Sampo).
Regarding claim 1, Sampo discloses the following:
a vehicular antenna device comprising:
a ground plate (5, fig. 5); and
an antenna element (10) disposed on an upper surface side of the ground plate, wherein the antenna element includes
a conductor plate (15-19) facing the ground plate,
a feeding conductor (11, page 2, para 4: The lower end portion of the first connection portion 11 is connected to the substrate 7 and serves as a feeding point extending toward the ground plate (5) from one side portion of the conductor plate (15),
a ground conductor (12) extending toward the ground plate from an opposing portion (16) of the conductor plate opposite the one side portion (fig. 5), and
a connection conductor (13) located between the feeding conductor (11) and the ground conductor (12) and electrically connected to the ground plate (5, page 2, para 4) and the conductor plate (15-19).
Regarding claim 2, Sampo discloses wherein the connection conductor (3, fig. 5) is bent with respect to the conductor plate (15-19).
Regarding claim 3, Sampo discloses wherein a width of at least a portion of at least one of the feeding conductor (11) or the ground conductor decreases away from the conductor plate (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 4, Sampo discloses wherein a width length of at least a portion of the ground conductor (12, fig. 6 below) is less than a length of the opposing portion of the conductor plate (16).
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Regarding claim 5, Sampo discloses wherein at least one of the feeding conductor (11, fig. 5) or the ground conductor (12) is bent with respect to the conductor plate (15-19).
Regarding claim 8, Sampo discloses wherein at least a portion of the conductor plate is cut out (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 9, as best understood, Sampo discloses wherein the conductor plate has a polygonal shape (15-19, fig. 5),
the feeding conductor (11) extends from the one side of sides forming the polygonal shape,
the ground conductor (12) extends from a side opposite the one side of the sides, and
a width length of a lower end portion of at least one of the feeding conductor (11) or the ground conductor is 50% or less of a length of the side to which the at least one is connected (15).
Regarding claim 10, Sampo discloses wherein a plurality of the connection conductors (13, 21, fig. 13) is disposed.
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 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sampo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ek et al, US-20140368405-A1 (hereinafter Ek).
Regarding claim 6, Sampo does not disclose wherein there is a plurality of antenna elements, and the plurality of antenna elements is arranged in a predetermined direction.
Ek suggests wherein there is a plurality of antenna elements (3, 4, fig. 2), and the plurality of antenna elements is arranged in a predetermined direction (fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a plurality of antenna elements taught in Sampo as suggested in Ek as claimed for the purpose of having a wider signal coverage in order to improve the quality of the wireless communication.
Regarding claim 7, Sampo does not disclose wherein a shortest distance between opposite sides of conductor plates of adjacent antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements is greater than or equal to 0.05 times a wavelength of a lowest frequency in frequency bands the plurality of antenna elements supports.
Ek suggests wherein a shortest distance (14, fig. 2) between opposite sides of conductor plates of adjacent antenna elements (3, 4) of the plurality of antenna elements is greater than or equal to 0.05 times a wavelength of a lowest frequency in frequency bands the plurality of antenna elements supports (para [0031]: exceeds 0.4*λo).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange the shortest distance between opposite sides of conductor plates of adjacent antenna elements taught in Sampo and Ek to be greater than or equal to 0.05 times a wavelength of a lowest frequency as claimed for the purpose of preventing the interference between the signals of the adjacent antenna elements in order to improve the quality of the antennas’ performance.
Citation of Pertinent Art
Hill et al, US-6448933-B1, fig. 2D could read on claim 1
Ng, US-20130229318-A1, figs. 2-8 could read on claim 1
Liu et al, US-20050264456-A1, fig. 5 could read on claim 1
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANH N HO whose telephone number is (571)272-4657. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dameon Levi can be reached at (571)272-2105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAMEON E LEVI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2845
/ANH HO/Examiner, Art Unit 2845
