Patent Application 15735584 - CHANNEL-SELECTIVE RF POWER SENSOR

Title: CHANNEL-SELECTIVE RF POWER SENSOR
Application Information

Invention Title: CHANNEL-SELECTIVE RF POWER SENSOR
Application Number: 15735584
Submission Date: 2025-05-16T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2017-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2017-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
National Class: 324
National Sub-Class: 126000
Examiner Employee Number: 79832
Art Unit: 2858
Tech Center: 2800
Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 0
103 Rejections: 6
Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:
Office Action Text



    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 .

Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection.  Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.  Applicant's submission filed on April 30, 2025 has been entered.  Accordingly, claims 11, 15 and 16 were previously cancelled; claims 1-10, 12-14 and 17-24 are currently pending in the application.

Claim Interpretation
The term “a carrier body” as recited in the rejected claims at issue was given its broadest reasonable interpretation, which is common and consistent with the interpretation that those skilled in the art would reach, such as a house or housing, a container or receptacle, an enclosure or chamber, a box or holder, a board, a frame or chassis, or any means or structures for “containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit” as recited in the rejected claims (emphasis added).
Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims.  See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Claims 17-19 present a method of measuring RF energy information for a channel of interest according to the channel-selective RF power sensor of claims 1-3.   Therefore, the argument made against claims 1-3 also applies, mutatis mutandis, to claim 17-19.  In addition, it is clearly seen that claims 17-19 are process claims which present a process of using the channel-selective RF power sensor as claimed in claims 1-3, respectively.
Claims 17-21 and 23 present a method of measuring RF energy information for a channel of interest according to the channel-selective RF power sensor of claims 1-5 and 7.   Therefore, the argument made against claims 1-5 and 7 also applies, mutatis mutandis, to claim 17-21 and 23.  In addition, it is clearly seen that claims 17-21 and 23 are process claims which present a process of using the channel-selective RF power sensor as claimed in claims 1-5 and 7, respectively.
According to MPEP 2112.02: Process Claims, it is noted that “Under the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device” (emphasis added).  It is also noted in that same MPEP section that “The Federal Circuit upheld the Board’s finding that "Donley inherently performs the function disclosed in the method claims on appeal when that device is used in ‘normal and usual operation’" and found that a prima facie case of anticipation was made out” (emphasis added). Id. at 138, 801 F.2d at 1326.  It was up to applicant to prove that Donley's structure would not perform the claimed method when placed in ambient light.).”

Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-10, 12-14 and 17-24 have been considered but are moot.  However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection are made.

Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-3 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (US 2009/0046030 A1) in view of Oh et al. (NPL: “Automatic antenna-tuning unit for software-defined and cognitive radio”).
Song et al. teaches a closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system comprising:

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With regard to claims 1 and 17, a channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, return loss detector 110) comprising a carrier body (an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1) containing a directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and a channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114); said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) is configured to obtain a sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) travelling on a main transmission line (transmission line coupled to the signal source configured to conduct the radio frequency signal) and provide said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) directly to said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114), wherein said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) containing a channel of interest (any desired frequency); and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) is configured to measure RF energy information (incident and reflected sampled signals) for said channel of interest (any desired frequency) in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101), wherein said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) are integrated in said carrier body (an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1) of said channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, return loss detector 110) (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0008], [0015]-[0025], [0048]-[0051] and [0062]-[0071]).
Song et al. teaches all as discussed above including that the directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and the channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) are enclosed in an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1, but it does not explicitly teach the following feature:
A carrier body containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit.
Oh et al. teaches an automatic antenna-tuning unit for software-defined and cognitive radio comprising:

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With regard to claims 1 and 17, a RF power detector (FIG. 10) comprising a printed circuit board (FIG. 10, PCB) having a directional coupler (FIG. 10, three-line directional coupler) and a power measurement circuit (FIG. 10, power detector LT5534) (Section 2.3.2: first paragraph).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system of Song et al. to utilize a printed circuit board for containing a directional coupler and a power measurement circuit as taught by Oh et al. since Oh et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to reduce overall system size as disclosed in the first paragraph of the Section 2.3.2.
With regard to claims 2 and 18, Song et al. teaches  that said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) is further configured to calculate and output RF energy information (return loss signal) for said channel of interest (any desired frequency) of said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0008], [0015]-[0025], [0048]-[0051] and [0062]-[0071]).
With regard to claims 3 and 19, Song et al. teaches  that said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) has a tunable receiver (FIG. 8 in view of FIG. 1, electronically tunable antenna 806 as tunable filter) configured to select said channel of interest (any desired frequency) in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) by rejecting frequencies in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) that are outside of the bandwidth of said channel of interest (any desired frequency), wherein said center frequency and bandwidth of said channel of interest (any desired frequency) is user selectable (the tunable filter 218 may be tunable in both center frequency and bandwidth to a predetermined center frequency and bandwidth) (Paragraphs: [0008], [0015]-[0025], [0048]-[0051] and [0062]-[0071]).
Claims 1-5, 7, 13, 14, 17-21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones et al. (US 2012/0071123 A1) in view of Oh et al.
Jones et al. teaches a system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band comprising:

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With regard to claims 1 and 17, a channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100) comprising a carrier body (the housing of RF wireless transmission system 100, not shown) containing a directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) and a channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102); said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) is configured to obtain a sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) travelling on a main transmission line (end-to-end performance monitoring transmission) and provide said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) directly to said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102), wherein said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) containing a channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands); and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) is configured to measure RF energy information (power levels to provide monitoring signals, such as measures of forward and reflected power, as well as VSWR, return loss) for said channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands) in said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields), wherein said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) are integrated in said carrier body (the housing of RF wireless transmission system 100, not shown) of said channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100) (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0005]-[0019] and [0027]-[0053]).
Jones et al. teaches all as discussed above including the directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) and the channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102), but it does not explicitly teach the following feature:
A carrier body containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit.
Oh et al. teaches an automatic antenna-tuning unit for software-defined and cognitive radio comprising:

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With regard to claims 1 and 17, a RF power detector (FIG. 10) comprising a printed circuit board (FIG. 10, PCB) having a directional coupler (FIG. 10, three-line directional coupler) and a power measurement circuit (FIG. 10, power detector LT5534) (Section 2.3.2: first paragraph).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band of Jones et al. to utilize a printed circuit board for containing a directional coupler and a power measurement circuit as taught by Oh et al. since Oh et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to reduce overall system size as disclosed in the first paragraph of the Section 2.3.2.
With regard to claims 2 and 18, Jones et al. teaches that said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) is further configured to calculate and output RF energy information (power levels to provide monitoring signals, such as measures of forward and reflected power, as well as VSWR, return loss) for said channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands) of said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0005]-[0019] and [0027]-[0053]).
With regard to claims 3 and 19, Jones et al. teaches that said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) has a tunable receiver (FIG. 2C in view of FIG. 1, tunable filter 218) configured to select said channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands) in said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) by rejecting frequencies in said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) that are outside of the bandwidth of said channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands), wherein said center frequency and bandwidth of said channel of interest (desired or specified frequency sub-bands) is user selectable (the tunable filter 218 may be tunable in both center frequency and bandwidth to a predetermined center frequency and bandwidth) (Paragraphs: [0032]-[0035], [0038]-[0039] and [0046]).
With regard to claims 4 and 20, Jones et al. teaches that said bandwidth of said channel (desired or specified frequency sub-bands) is one of 6.25 kHz, 12.5 kHz, or 25 kHz (“…a bandwidth of 20 kHz. However, other embodiments may be configured for use in different RF bands”, (emphasis added)) (Paragraphs: [0039]-[0051]).
With regard to claims 5 and 21, Jones et al. teaches that said RF energy information (power levels to provide monitoring signals, such as measures of forward and reflected power, as well as VSWR, return loss) includes RMS power, peak power, duty cycle, crest factor, VSWR, complementary cumulative distribution function, peak, average, peak-to-average ratio, rise time, fall time, and pulse width (… “this data may be presented to a user, for example, on a "dashboard" display which may display current monitored power levels, VSWR values, alarm indications, and/or other information”, (emphasis added)) (Paragraphs: [0048], [0054] and [0058]).
With regard to claims 7 and 23, Jones et al. teaches that said receiver (FIG. 2C in view of FIG. 1, tunable filter 218) is configured to down-convert said sample of energy (forward-propagating and reflected RF fields) to baseband or a low intermediate frequency (Paragraph: [0036]).
With regard to claim 13, Jones et al. teaches that said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) has an RF switch (FIG. 2A in view of FIG. 1, RF switch 222) with a forward position (FIG. 2A in view of FIG. 1, forward input ports 116) and a reflected position (FIG. 2A in view of FIG. 1, reverse input ports 118), thereby allowing said forward and reflected power obtained by said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 114) to be multiplexed for processing by said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102); and/or wherein said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) is comprised of integrated devices (FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D in view of FIG. 1, CPU 204 and memory 206) or discrete devices (FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D in view of FIG. 1, processor 202, tunable filter 218, mixers 230, 234,  RF synthesizers 228, 236, couplers 242, 244, bandpass filter 246, and so on); and/or wherein said RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100) is a thru-line sensor (using one directional coupler 114 for each direction of power flow) or a terminating sensor (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0005]-[0019] and [0027]-[0053]).  
With regard to claim 14, Jones et al. teaches that said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) has a variable gain stage (FIG. 2C in view of FIG. 1, amplifiers 237, 239) that permits the amplification of small signals, thereby increasing the dynamic range of the channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100) (Paragraph [0037]: “…additional amplification and/or other signal conditioning may be provided in order to ensure that the input to the RF detector 220 lies within an optimum operating range”, (emphasis added)).
Claims 6 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. as applied to claims 1 and 17 above, and further in view of Holt (US 2011/0119001 A1).

Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. teaches all that is claimed as discussed in the above rejection of claims 1-5, 7, 13, 14, 17-21 and 23 including the channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100), but it does not specifically teach the following feature:
The RF power sensor is calibratable across a temperature of said power sensor to compensate for thermally induced drift in said channel-selective RF power sensor, and said channel-selective RF power sensor is calibratable to compensate for a frequency of said channel of interest.
Holt teaches an in-line power monitor comprising:

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With regard to claims 6 and 22, a RF power sensor (FIG. 3) is calibratable across a temperature of said power sensor (FIG. 3) to compensate for thermally induced drift in said channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 3), and said channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 3) is calibratable to compensate for a frequency of said channel of interest (Paragraphs: [0009]-[0014], [0022]-[0024] and [0029]-[0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band of Jones et al. to calibrate across a temperature of the power sensor to compensate for thermally induced drift for a frequency as taught by Holt since Holt teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to provide an electrical instrument for monitoring the forward and reflected RF power along a transmission line that is capable of being calibrated in-line during live conditions at the exact power and frequency where it is used as disclosed in the paragraph [0009].
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dent et al. (US 2009/0253385 A1).
Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. teaches all that is claimed as discussed in the above rejection of claims 1-5, 7, 13, 14, 17-21 and 23 including:
With regard to claims 8-10, the channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, monitoring apparatus 102) and the receiver (FIG. 2C in view of FIG. 1, tunable filter 218) that has a local oscillator (FIG. 2B in view of FIG. 1,  oscillator 225) that is tunable over a wide frequency range, thereby permitting the channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, RF wireless transmission system 100) to measure power at frequencies within about the frequency range of said local oscillator (FIG. 2B in view of FIG. 1,  oscillator 225) (Paragraph: [0009]).
However, it does not specifically teach the following features:
A local oscillator is tunable over a wide frequency range.
The local oscillator down-converts said sample of energy to baseband of low intermediate frequency using an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, an in-phase mixer, and a quadrature mixer.
An in-phase bandpass filter and a quadrature bandpass filter that pass only frequencies of the downconverted sample of energy within the channel of interest; wherein said in-phase bandpass filter and quadrature bandpass filter are digital filters or analog filters.
Dent et al. teaches an in-line power monitor comprising:

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With regard to claim 8, a local oscillator (FIG. 4, local oscillator circuit 452) is tunable over a wide frequency range (Paragraphs: [0039]-[0051]).
With regard to claim 9, the local oscillator (FIG. 4, local oscillator circuit 452) down-converts (FIG. 4, downconverter circuit 442) said sample of energy to baseband of low intermediate frequency using an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, an in-phase mixer (FIG. 4, frequency mixer 446-1), and a quadrature mixer (FIG. 4, frequency mixer 446-2) (Paragraphs: [0039]-[0051]).
With regard to claim 10, an in-phase bandpass filter (FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-1) and a quadrature bandpass filter (FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-2) that pass only frequencies of the downconverted sample of energy within the channel of interest; wherein said in-phase bandpass filter (FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-1) and quadrature bandpass filter (FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-2) are analog filters (Paragraphs: [0039]-[0051]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band of Jones et al. to utilize an in-phase bandpass filter, a quadrature bandpass filter, and a local oscillator that is tunable over a wide frequency range and down-converts said sample of energy to baseband of low intermediate frequency using an in-phase signal, a quadrature signal, an in-phase mixer, and a quadrature mixer as taught by Dent et al. since Dent et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to substantially removes or otherwise "cancels" transmit signal modulation components from the downconverted baseband signals that simplifies processing of the baseband signals to obtain a characterization of impedance mismatch as disclosed in the paragraph [0047].
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. and Dent et al. as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2002/0094014 A1).
Jones et al. in view of Oh et al. and Dent et al. teaches all that is claimed as discussed in the above rejection of claims 8-10 including the in-phase bandpass filter (Dent et al.: FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-1) and the quadrature bandpass filter (Dent et al.: FIG. 4, baseband filter 448-2), but it does not specifically teach the following feature:
The in-phase bandpass filter is an FIR filter and the quadrature bandpass filter is an FIR filter.
Kim et al. teaches an apparatus for detecting and adjusting a transmission power comprising:

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With regard to claim 12, an in-phase bandpass filter is an FIR filter (FIG. 1, FIR filter 31) and a quadrature bandpass filter is an FIR filter (FIG. 1, FIR filter 32) (Paragraphs: [0016] and [0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band of Jones et al. to utilize FIR filters in place of  the in-phase bandpass filter and the quadrature bandpass filter as taught by Kim et al. since Kim et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to provide desirable and exemplary choices for a filtering devices of the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band.  Such an implementation can significantly increase the effectiveness of the system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band due to a number of useful and preferable properties of a finite impulse response (FIR) filter including stability and no feedback.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. in view of Oh et al., Jones et al. and Mecklenburg (US 4,547,728 A).
Song et al. teaches a closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system comprising:

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With regard to claim 24, a channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, return loss detector 110) comprising a carrier body (an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1) containing a directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and a channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114); said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) is configured to obtain a sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) travelling on a main transmission line (transmission line coupled to the signal source configured to conduct the radio frequency signal) and provide said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) directly to said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114), wherein said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) containing a channel of interest (any desired frequency); and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) is configured to measure RF energy information (incident and reflected sampled signals) for said channel of interest (any desired frequency) in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101), wherein said directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and said channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) are integrated in said carrier body (an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1) of said channel-selective RF power sensor (FIG. 1, return loss detector 110); a transceiver (transmitter, receiver or transceiver circuit (not shown) to antenna 103) for making available and transmitting said RF energy information (incident and reflected sampled signals) (For more details, please read: Abstract; and paragraphs: [0008], [0015]-[0025], [0048]-[0051] and [0062]-[0071]).
Song et al. teaches all as discussed above including that the directional coupler (FIG. 1, directional coupler 111) and the channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) are enclosed in an enclosure illustrated by a dashed line indicating the return loss detector 110 as shown in FIG. 1, but it does not explicitly teach the following features:
A carrier body containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit.
A printed circuit board having a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit.
A metallic barrier between a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit.
Said RF energy information includes RMS power, peak power, duty cycle, crest factor, VSWR, complementary cumulative distribution function, peak, average, peak-to-average ratio, rise time, fall time, and pulse width.
Oh et al. teaches an automatic antenna-tuning unit for software-defined and cognitive radio comprising:

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With regard to claim 24, a RF power detector (FIG. 10) comprising a carrier body which is a printed circuit board (FIG. 10, PCB) having a directional coupler (FIG. 10, three-line directional coupler) and a power measurement circuit (FIG. 10, power detector LT5534) (Section 2.3.2: first paragraph).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system of Song et al. to utilize a printed circuit board having a directional coupler and a power measurement circuit as taught by Oh et al. since Oh et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to reduce overall system size as disclosed in the first paragraph of the Section 2.3.2.
Mecklenburg teaches an RF wattmeter comprising:

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With regard to claim 24, a metallic barrier (FIG. 3, mounting disc 54) between a directional coupler (FIG. 3, coil 21) and a power measurement circuit (FIG. 3, detectors 25 and 30) (Column 1, lines 38-56; and column 5, lines 5-45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system of Song et al. to utilize a metallic barrier between a directional coupler and a power measurement circuit as taught by Mecklenburg since such an arrangement is beneficial to block RF interference to minimize the noise figure, thereby maximizing power transfer.
Jones et al. teaches a system for monitoring of individual frequency channels in an RF signal band comprising:

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With regard to claim 24, said RF energy information (power levels to provide monitoring signals, such as measures of forward and reflected power, as well as VSWR, return loss) includes RMS power, peak power, duty cycle, crest factor, VSWR, complementary cumulative distribution function, peak, average, peak-to-average ratio, rise time, fall time, and pulse width (… “this data may be presented to a user, for example, on a "dashboard" display which may display current monitored power levels, VSWR values, alarm indications, and/or other information”, (emphasis added)) (Paragraphs: [0048], [0054] and [0058]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the closed-loop controlled antenna tuning unit (ATU) system of Song et al. to provide RF energy information including RMS power, peak power, duty cycle, crest factor, VSWR, complementary cumulative distribution function, peak, average, peak-to-average ratio, rise time, fall time, and pulse width as taught by Jones et al. since Jones et al. teaches that such an arrangement is beneficial to provide monitoring signals presented to a user on a “dashboard” display which may display current monitored power levels, VSWR values, alarm indications, and/or other information” as disclosed in the paragraphs [0048], [0054] and [0058].

Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-10, 12-14 and 17-24 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection will address all issues for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.

In response to applicants’ arguments in the last paragraph at page 7 and in the last paragraph at page 9 that both Song et al. and Jones et al. fail to disclose “a carrier body containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit”, the Examiner disagrees.
As clearly expressed in the Claim Interpretation section above, the term “a carrier body” as recited in the rejected claims at issue was given its broadest reasonable interpretation, which is common and consistent with the interpretation that those skilled in the art would reach, such as a house or housing, a container or receptacle, an enclosure or chamber, a box or holder, a board, a frame or chassis, or any means or structures for “containing a directional coupler and a channel-selective power measurement circuit” as recited in the rejected claims (emphasis added).  With that being said, new grounds of rejections have been introduced using Oh et al. to support this rationale.  Oh et al. discloses a printed circuit board (FIG. 10, PCB), which is considered as a carrier body as recited in the claims, having a directional coupler (FIG. 10, three-line directional coupler) and a power measurement circuit (FIG. 10, power detector LT5534) (Section 2.3.2: first paragraph).
In response to applicants’ arguments in the fourth paragraph at page 8 that “the RF power detectors 112, 113 and the subtractor 114 in Song are all broadband and do not differentiate between channels within forward or reflected signal waves”, the Examiner disagrees.
It is noted that the term “broadband” is not mentioned anywhere in the disclosure of Song et al., that is, there is nowhere in the specification of Song et al. indicating that the RF power detectors 112, 113 are all broadband and do not differentiate between channels within forward or reflected signal waves.  In addition, Song et al. teaches that the channel-selective power measurement circuit (FIG. 1, RF power detectors 112, 113 and subtractor 114) has a tunable receiver (FIG. 8 in view of FIG. 1, electronically tunable antenna 806 as tunable filter) configured to select said channel of interest (any desired frequency) in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) by rejecting frequencies in said sample of energy (FIG. 1, RF signal from  PA 101) that are outside of the bandwidth of said channel of interest (any desired frequency), wherein said center frequency and bandwidth of said channel of interest (any desired frequency) is user selectable (the tunable filter 218 may be tunable in both center frequency and bandwidth to a predetermined center frequency and bandwidth) (Paragraphs: [0008], [0015]-[0025], [0048]-[0051] and [0062]-[0071]).
With regard to dependent claims 2-10, 12-14 and 18-23, all of applicants’ arguments areaddressed by the above rejections.

Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.  Applicant' s attention is invited to the followings whose inventions disclose similar devices.
Dummermuth (US 11,415,605 B2) teaches a thru-line directional power sensor having microstrip coupler.

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HOAI-AN D. NGUYEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2858



/HOAI-AN D. NGUYEN/            Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858