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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/30/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 12/30/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 17, Applicant’s argument directed to newly added limitations, the Examiner respectfully submits that claim 17 is much broader than claim 1, DE JONGH discloses ENDC (E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity) and carrier aggregation (CA) using LTE and New Radio (NR) systems, further discloses the newly added limitation by tuning antenna from a first Band combo to a second Band combo e.g. in figure 6, when tuning from the first Band combo 1&7 to the second Band combo 5&1&7 based on network scheduling/resource allocation within LTE and NR standards.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
6. Claim(s) 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by DE JONGH (US 20210234561 A1).
For claim 17. DE JONGH discloses An electronic device comprising: at least one processor configured to support long-term evolution (LTE) network communication and new radio (NR) network communication ([0041], [0042], [0047]); a plurality of antennas including a first antenna and a second antenna ([0046]); an aperture switch connected to the first antenna or the second antenna to change at least one resonance characteristic of the first antenna or the second antenna ([0046], [0055]); and memory storing instructions and configured to store a plurality of antenna settings for controlling a switching operation of the aperture switch ([0057]), wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify whether the electronic device is in a state connected to a first base station corresponding to the LTE network communication (e.g. LTE standard) and operated as a master node and a second base station corresponding to the NR network communication (e.g. 5G standard) and operated as a secondary node ([0042]-[0044], [0049], [0074], [0083]-[0086]), based on the electronic device being in the state connected to the first base station using a first channel included in a first frequency band of the LTE network communication and the second base station using a second channel included in a second frequency band of the NR network communication, identify an antenna setting corresponding to the second channel included the second frequency band and a combination of the first frequency band and the second frequency band among the plurality of antenna settings, and control, based on the identified antenna setting, the switching operation of the aperture switch ([0081]-[0086], figures 6-16).
For claim 18. The electronic device of claim 17, DE JONGH discloses wherein the state includes a long-term evolution (LTE) radio resource control (RRC) connected state for the first base station and an NR RRC connected state or an NR RRC inactive state for the second base station ([0041], figures 5-8, channel scheduling in LTE/5G new radio standard).
For claim 19. The electronic device of claim 17, DE JONGH discloses wherein the plurality of antenna settings include antenna settings corresponding to a low channel, a mid (middle) channel, and a high channel of the combination of the second frequency band of the NR network communication and the first frequency band of the LTE network communication, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify the antenna setting corresponding to the second channel of the second frequency band among the antenna settings, and control the switching operation of the aperture switch based on the antenna setting corresponding to the second channel of the second frequency band among the antenna settings ([0045], [0052], [0081]-[0086], figures 5, 8-16).
For claim 20. The electronic device of claim 17, DE JONGH discloses wherein the plurality of antenna settings include antenna settings corresponding to a low channel, a mid channel, and a high channel of the first frequency band of the LTE network communication, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to: based on identifying that the electronic device is in a state connected to the first base station and not connected to the second base station, identify an antenna setting corresponding to the first channel of the first frequency band of the LTE network communication among the antenna settings, and control the switching operation of the aperture switch based on the antenna setting corresponding to the first channel of the first frequency band of the LTE network communication among the antenna settings ([0045], [0052], [0081]-[0086], figures 5, 8-16).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 1-16 are allowed.
8. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Consider claims 1 and 9, Applicant’s claimed invention distinguished over the prior art for the following reasons. The claims are allowable over the prior art of record because none of the references, either alone or in combination, discloses or renders obvious the invention as a whole.
Conclusion
Any response to this Office Action should be faxed to (571) 273-8300, submitted online via the USPTO's Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) (Registered eFilers only, Registered users of the USPTO's EFS-Web system may submit a response electronically through EFS-Web at https://efs.uspto.gov/TruePassSample/AuthenticateUserLocalEPF.html), or mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rui Meng Hu whose telephone number is 571-270-1105, email is ruimeng.hu@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jinsong Hu can be reached on (571)272-3965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Rui Meng Hu/
R.H./rh
February 4, 2026
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643