Ex Parte SUDO et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 6, 2019

13555959 (P.T.A.B. Mar. 6, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/555,959 07/23/2012
78198 7590
Studebaker & Brackett PC
8255 Greensboro Drive
Suite 300
Tysons, VA 22102
03/08/2019
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
KaoruSUDO
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
002000-104 4821
EXAMINER
PATEL,AMALA
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2845
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
03/08/2019 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
info@sbpatentlaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte KAO RU SUDO, HIROT AKA FUJII,
and TOSHIRO HIRATSUKA
Appeal2017-006177
Application 13/555,959
Technology Center 2800
Before TERRY J. OWENS, CATHERINE Q. TIMM, and
AVEL YN M. ROSS, Administrative Patent Judges.
OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Appellant (Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) appeals under
35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's rejection of claims 1-9. We have
jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
The Invention
The claims are to a wideband antenna. Claim 1 is illustrative:
1. A wideband antenna comprising:
a ground conductor plate configured to be connected to a
ground potential;
a radiating conductor element facing the ground
conductor plate at a distance from the ground conductor plate
and connected to a feed line;
Appeal2017-006177
Application 13/555,959
a parasitic conductor element on a side opposite to the
ground conductor plate as viewed from the radiating conductor
element, and insulated from the ground conductor plate and the
radiating conductor element; and
a coupling adjusting conductor plate positioned between
the parasitic conductor element and the radiating conductor
element, and configured to adjust an amount of coupling
between the parasitic conductor element and the radiating
conductor element,
wherein the coupling adjusting conductor plate extends
across an entire width of the radiating conductor element in a
direction orthogonal to a direction of a current that flows in the
radiating conductor element,
the coupling adjusting conductor plate overlaps a center
of an entire area where the parasitic conductor element and the
radiating conductor element overlap each other, and
both ends sides of the coupling adjusting conductor plate
are electrically connected to the ground conductor plate.
De Vita
Gillette
Matsuoka ( as translated)
Takehashi ( as translated)
Kametani (abstract)
The References
US 2009/0231207 Al
US 7,619,568 B2
JP 4-27609 U
JP 2001-267833 A
JP 2003-234613 A
The Rejections
Sept. 17, 2009
Nov. 17, 2009
Mar. 5, 1992
Sept. 28, 2001
Aug. 22, 2003
The claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as follows:
claims 1 and 7-9 over Matsuoka in view of Gillette; claims 2, 3, and 6 over
Matsuoka in view of Gillette and Takahashi; claim 4 over Matsuoka in view
of Gillette and Kametani; and claim 5 over Matsuoka in view of Gillette and
De Vita. 1
1 Other rejections are withdrawn in the Examiner's Answer (Ans. 2-3).
2
Appeal2017-006177
Application 13/555,959
OPINION
We reverse the rejections. We need address only the sole independent
claim, i.e., claim 1. That claim requires a coupling adjusting conductor
plate ( 16) having both of its side ends electrically connected to a ground
conductor plate (2). 2 To meet that claim requirement the Examiner relies
upon Matsuoka (Ans. 5).
Matsuoka discloses a broadband microstrip antenna comprising a first
stage having spaced-apart first (71) and second (72) parasitic elements (p. 13;
Fig. 1) (which the Examiner relies upon as corresponding to the Appellant's
coupling adjusting conductor plate (Final Act. 3)). Each of those parasitic
elements has an inverted L shape with its outer end electrically connected to
a grounding conductor (2) (p. 13; Fig. 1).
The Examiner finds that "all of the parasitic elements of Matsuoka are
connected to the grounding conductor in all embodiments thus clearly
meeting the claimed limitation" (Ans. 5).
The Examiner does not establish that Matsuoka's electrical connection
to the grounding conductor (2) of each spaced-apart first (71) and second (72)
parasitic element at its outer end (Fig. 1) meets the Appellant's claim 1 's
requirement that "both end sides of the coupling adjusting conductor plate
are electrically connected to the ground conductor plate."
The Examiner concludes that if "7 1 and 7 2, or the other parasitic
elements of Matsuoka, do not form a singular, whole, integrated plate, the
term 'comprising' in the preamble of the claim makes clear the claimed
invention is presumptively open-ended" (Ans. 5).
2 In Fig. 1 that connection is by vias 17.
3
Appeal2017-006177
Application 13/555,959
The Examiner does not explain how that conclusion indicates that
Matsuoka meets the Appellant's above-discussed claim requirement.
Thus, the Examiner has not set forth a factual basis sufficient to
support a conclusion of obviousness of the Appellant's claimed invention.
See In re Warner, 379 F .2d 1011, 1017 (CCP A 1967) ("A rejection based on
section 103 clearly must rest on a factual basis, and these facts must be
interpreted without hindsight reconstruction of the invention from the prior
art."). Accordingly, we reverse the rejections.
DECISION
The rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) of claims 1 and 7-9 over
Matsuoka in view of Gillette; claims 2, 3, and 6 over Matsuoka in view of
Gillette and Takahashi; claim 4 over Matsuoka in view of Gillette and
Kametani; and claim 5 over Matsuoka in view of Gillette and De Vita are
reversed.
The Examiner's decision is reversed.
REVERSED
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