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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sirichai et al. (US 2007/0235492 A1) in view of KR 200464283 Y1 as provided in the IDS dated 3/6/26 (hereinafter, 283’).
Consider claim 1, Sirichai teaches a cover for a foldable electronic device, the foldable electronic device including a first housing, a second housing, and a hedge portion that rotatably connects the first housing and the second housing (abstract and Fig. 2), the cover, comprising:
a first cover configured for accommodating the first housing of the foldable electronic device (Fig. 2, compartment 140) including:
a first plate (first panel 110 and second panel 120) and a first sidewall portion (sidewall 160 and 170) extending from an edge of the first plate (Fig .2) , and
a second cover configured for accommodating the second housing of the foldable electronic device (Fig. 2, compartment 150) including:
a second plate (third panel 130 and panel 110) and a second sidewall portion (sidewall 180 and 190) extending from an edge of the second plate (Fig. 2)
a strap (Fig. 5, strap 135) configured for connecting the first cover and the second cover,
the strap including:
a first portion combined with the first cover (Fig. 5 and paragraph 26, strap 135 connects to portion 111 of the panel 110); and
a second portion extended from the first portion and combinable with the second cover by passing through an opening part formed on the second cover (Fig. 5 and 7 and paragraph 26, the strap pass through portion 112 of the panel 110).
Sirichai does not teach wherein the second portion is in a movable state through to the opening part.
283’ further teaches wherein the second portion is in a movable state through to the opening part (page 2 and Fig. 2, 4 and 7, the mounting member 20 can be a part of the second cover and the upper end 12 of the holder 10 can be a part of the first cover. Where the holder 10 is extended and passing through an opening of inlet portion 21 and outlet portion 22 and the holder 10 is movable through the opening).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize and modify the above teachings for the purposes of preventing the mobile phone from falling due to slipping (page 3).
Consider claim 2, 283’ further teaches wherein the second portion of the strap is movable relative to the opening part when the cover is combined with the foldable electronic device (page 2 and Fig. 2, 4 and 7, the mounting member 20 can be a part of the second cover and the upper end 12 of the holder 10 can be a part of the first cover. Where the holder 10 is extended and passing through an opening of inlet portion 21 and outlet portion 22 and the holder 10 is movable through the opening).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize and modify the above teachings for the purposes of preventing the mobile phone from falling due to slipping (page 3).
Consider claim 3, 283’ further teaches wherein the second portion of the strap is movable relative to the opening part when the cover is combined with the foldable electronic device in an unfolded state (page 2 and Fig. 2, 4 and 7, the mounting member 20 can be a part of the second cover and the upper end 12 of the holder 10 can be a part of the first cover. Where the holder 10 is extended and passing through an opening of inlet portion 21 and outlet portion 22 and the holder 10 is movable through the opening).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize and modify the above teachings for the purposes of preventing the mobile phone from falling due to slipping (page 3).
Consider claim 7, Sirichai also teaches wherein the strap includes a reinforcing portion included in the first portion of the strap (Fig. 1, where the snap 136 is attached to the strap 135 can be considered reinforcement).
Consider claim 20, Sirichai also teaches wherein the strap comprises fabric, polymer, or leather (paragraph 30, the case is made of leather or fabric, therefore, the strap can also be made of leather or fabric).
Claim(s) 12 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sirichai et al. (US 2007/0235492 A1) in view of KR 200464283 Y1 as provided in the IDS dated 3/6/26 (hereinafter, 283’) and further in view of KR 200287710 Y1 (hereinafter 710’).
Consider claim 12, Sirichai and 283’ do not teach wherein when the cover is combined with the foldable electronic device in a folded state, a part of the second portion covers the hinge portion of the foldable electronic device.
710’ further teaches wherein when the cover is combined with the foldable electronic device in a folded state, a part of the second portion covers the hinge portion of the foldable electronic device (Fig. 1 and 5-6 and paragraph 23 the connecting portion 30a would cover the hinge of the electronic device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize and modify the above teachings for the purposes of improving securely connects the upper and lower cases 10 and 20.
Consider claim 15, 710 further teaches wherein the strap further include a third portion extending from the second portion (Fig. 6, the elastic band 31a of the connecting portion 30a can be read as the claimed third portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize and modify the above teachings for the purposes of improving the appearance of the outer side of the back surface of the lower case (paragraph 23 of 710’).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 8, and 13 are allowed.
Claims 9-11, 14 and 16-19 are 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 JUSTIN YE LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5258. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-8:00.
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/JUSTIN Y LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644 3/26/26
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