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 June 17, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 37 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 7, the term “the first metallization pattern” should be replaced with “a first metallization pattern” to comply with antecedent basis rules and procedures for claim terms.
In claim 37, the term “the first dipole radiator” should be replaced with “a first dipole radiator” to comply with antecedent basis rules and procedures for claim terms.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 10-13, 18, 19, 24, 25, 28, 30, 37, 38, 40 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2021/0305697).
Chen, in figures 1A-1D, discloses:
Claim 1: A radiating element, comprising: a first radiator (110); and a first director (140) that includes first through fourth arms (fig. 3A), where each of the first through fourth arms comprises a respective metallization pattern that extends radially from a central metallized region (fig. 3A), where the first arm includes a resonant circuit that has at least one inductive element and at least one capacitive element (fig. 3A).
Claim 2: wherein the first director is configured to be substantially transparent with respect to radio frequency ("RF") energy within a first sub-band of an operating frequency band of the radiating element (¶[0040]).
Claim 3: wherein the resonant circuit is configured to be resonant with respect to RF energy within a second sub-band of an operating frequency band of the radiating element (¶[0040]).
Claim 5: wherein the second sub-band encompasses lower frequencies than the first sub-band (¶[0040]).
Claim 7: wherein each metallization pattern includes a plurality of metal segments (fig. 3A), and the at least one inductive element comprises a metal trace that interconnects two of the metal segments (central capacitive element, another capacitive element; fig. 3A) of the first metallization pattern on the first arm, and wherein an average width of the metal trace is less than half an average width of both of the two metal segments (fig. 3A).
Claim 10: wherein the first radiator is a first dipole radiator, wherein the radiating element comprises a cross-dipole radiating element that includes the first dipole radiator and a second dipole radiator, and wherein the first and second arms extend along a first axis that extends parallel to the first dipole radiator and the third and fourth arms extend along a second axis that extends parallel to the second dipole radiator (fig. 1C).
Claim 11: wherein the central metallized region comprises a second director that is configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns emitted by the radiating element within the first sub-band of the operating frequency band of the radiating element (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure).
Claim 12: wherein the first through fourth arms of the first director are configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns emitted by the radiating element within a second sub-band of an operating frequency band of the radiating element (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure).
Claim 13: wherein the first through fourth arms each comprise a frequency selective surface (fig. 3A).
Claim 18: A radiating element that is configured to transmit and receive radio frequency ("RF") signals in an operating frequency band, the radiating element comprising: a first radiator (110); and a first director (140) that is configured to be substantially transparent to RF energy in a first sub-band of the operating frequency band that is in an upper portion of the operating frequency band (¶[0040]).
Claim 19: wherein the first director is configured to generate surface currents in response to RF energy within a second sub-band of the operating frequency band that is in a lower portion of the operating frequency band (¶[0040]).
Claim 24: wherein the radiating element comprises a cross-dipole radiating element and the first radiator is a first dipole radiator and the cross-dipole radiating element further includes a second dipole radiator, and wherein the first director includes first and second arms that extend along a first axis that extends parallel to the first dipole radiator and third and fourth arms that extend along a second axis that extends parallel to the second dipole radiator (fig. 1C).
Claim 25: wherein the first director is configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns emitted by the radiating element within a second sub-band of the operating frequency band (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure), the radiating element further comprising a second director (central capacitive element, fig. 3A) that is configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns emitted by the radiating element within the first sub-band of the operating frequency band (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure).
Claim 28: wherein the first director comprises a conductive loop (fig. 1D).
Claim 30: A radiating element that is configured to transmit and receive radio frequency ("RF") signals in an operating frequency band, comprising: a first radiator (110); and a first director (140) that is configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns generated by the first radiator in a lower portion of the operating frequency band (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure) and a second director (central capacitive element, fig. 3A) that is configured to narrow an azimuth half power beamwidth of radiation patterns generated by the first radiator in an upper portion of the operating frequency band (Since the structure of the prior art is substantially similar to that of the claimed invention, the claimed functional language is inherently present in the prior art structure).
Claim 37: wherein the radiating element comprises a cross-dipole radiating element that includes the first dipole radiator and a second dipole radiator, and wherein the first director includes first and second arms that extend along a first axis that extends parallel to the first dipole radiator and third and fourth arms that extend along a second axis that extends parallel to the second dipole radiator (fig. 1C).
Claim 38: wherein the first through fourth arms extend from the second director (fig. 3A).
Claim 40: wherein the first director comprises a conductive loop (fig. 1D).
Claim 41: wherein the conductive loop comprises a plurality of widened conductive segments that are interconnected by a plurality meandered conductive traces (fig. 1D).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 42 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT KARACSONY whose telephone number is (571)270-1268. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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/Robert Karacsony/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
