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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 2, 4-6 & 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee US Patent Application Publication 2024/0106117.
Regarding Claim 1, Lee teaches an antenna device (Figs. 1-7), comprising:
a carrier substrate (12 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0022), having a first surface (top surface of 12 Figs. 1, 2, 7) and a second surface that are opposite to each other (bottom surface of 12 Figs. 1, 2, 7), and a third surface adjacent to the first surface and the second surface (front vertical surface of 12 connecting top and bottom surfaces better seen in Fig. 1);
a first radiating portion (20 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0032), located on the first surface away from the third surface (Figs. 1, 2, 7), wherein the first radiating portion has a first bent section which is bent at least once and extends in a direction towards the third surface (201 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0023);
a second radiating portion (14, 18 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0029, 0031), located on the first surface (Figs. 1, 2, 7), wherein one side of the second radiating portion is connected to the first bent section of the first radiating portion (connected through 24 Figs. 1, 2, 7), an other side has a second bent section which is bent at least once and extends in a direction towards the third surface (14, 181 Figs. 1, 2, 7), and a gap is defined between the first radiating portion and the second radiating portion (gap not labeled between 20 and 14, 18 Figs. 1, 2, 7);
a signal source (24 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0023), located on the first surface and connected to the first radiating portion and the second radiating portion to transmit or receive a radio frequency signal (Par. 0024);
a third radiating portion (16 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0031), located on the first surface and located on an other side of the first radiating portion opposite to the second radiating portion (Fig. 7);
a fourth radiating portion (162 Fig. 7 Par. 0031), located on the first surface and adjacent to the third surface (Fig. 7), wherein one end of the fourth radiating portion is connected to the third radiating portion (Fig. 7), and an other end extends in a direction towards the second bent section (Fig. 7);
a first shorting portion (222 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0031), located on the third surface and connected to the third radiating portion (Figs. 1, 2, 7);
a second shorting portion (221 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0024), located on the third surface and connected to the second bent section of the second radiating portion (Figs. 1, 2, 7); and
a ground portion (22 Figs. 1, 2, 7 Par. 0031), located on the second surface (better seen in Fig. 1), wherein the ground portion is connected to the first shorting portion and the second shorting portion (better seen in Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 2, Lee teaches wherein the gap has a closed end formed by the first radiating portion and the second radiating portion and a corresponding open end thereof (Figs. 1, 2, 7), the signal source is located in the gap, and a spacing of the gap is divided into a first spacing close to the closed end and a second spacing close to the open end (Figs. 1, 2, 7).
Regarding Claim 4, Lee teaches mounted to a system ground plane in an electronic device through the second surface (301 Fig. 5 Par. 0025), so that the ground portion is electrically connected to the system ground plane (Par. 0025).
Regarding Claim 5, Lee teaches wherein the ground portion is further electrically connected to the system ground plane through a conductive medium (32 Fig. 5 Par. 0026).
Regarding Claim 6, Lee teaches wherein the signal source is connected to the first radiating portion and the second radiating portion through a coaxial cable (coaxial transmission line Par. 0023).
Regarding Claim 8, Lee teaches wherein the first radiating portion, the second radiating portion, the second shorting portion, and the ground portion are configured to excite a first operation mode (Par. 0032).
Regarding Claim 9, Lee teaches wherein the signal source is fed into the first radiating portion, so that a tail end of the first radiating portion is configured to excite a second operation mode (Fig. 7 Par. 0032).
Regarding Claim 10, Lee teaches wherein the ground portion, the first shorting portion, and the third radiating portion are configured to excite a third operation mode (Par. 0032).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee US Patent Application Publication 2024/0106117 and Kato US Patent Application Publication 2019/0221914.
Regarding Claim 7, Lee teaches the antenna device according to claim 6 as shown in the rejection above.
Lee is silent on wherein the coaxial cable comprises a core wire, a Teflon layer, a woven mesh, and an insulating layer in sequence from inside to outside, the core wire is electrically connected to the first radiating portion, and the woven mesh is electrically connected to the second radiating portion.
However, Kato teaches wherein the coaxial cable (3 Fig. 2 Par. 0044) comprises a core wire (4 Fig. 2 Par. 0044), a Teflon layer (5 made of TEFLON Fig. 2 Par. 0044), a woven mesh (6 Fig. 2 Par. 0044), and an insulating layer (7 Fig. 2 Par. 0044) in sequence from inside to outside (Fig. 2).
In this particular case, providing a coaxial cable which comprises a core wire, a Teflon layer, a woven mesh, and an insulating layer in sequence from inside to outside is common and well known in the antenna art as evident by Kato to reduce size and weight of the cable (Par. 0005). Additionally, it is implied that the woven mesh is electrically connected to the second radiating portion of Lee since portion 18 of the second radiating portion is seen connected to 24 Figs. 1, 2, 7).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the coaxial cable of Lee to comprise a core wire, a Teflon layer, a woven mesh, and an insulating layer in sequence from inside to outside based on the teachings of Kato as a result effect in order to reduce size and weight of the cable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 3, the prior art of record, when taken alone or in combination, does not fairly teach nor render obvious the limitations “wherein the signal source is located at a position at a distance that is one third of a length of the first radiating portion from an edge of the first radiating portion adjacent to the third radiating portion” as required by the claim.
Conclusion
The cited art in PTO-892 was found during the examiner's search, but was not relied upon for this office action. However it is still considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL M BOUIZZA whose telephone number is (571)272-6124. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, EST.
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/MICHAEL M BOUIZZA/Examiner, Art Unit 2845