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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendments and arguments filed 7/13/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
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) 1-5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bas et al. (US 2021/0058169 A1) in view of Yairi et al. (US 2015/0077398 A1) in further view of Piao et al. (CN 105677138 A) (Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 1, Bas discloses a device, comprising: a plurality of touch sensors; one or more antennas; and processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of touch sensors and the
receive touch sensor data from the plurality of touch sensors (see [0061], see touch sensor [0064]);
and comprising a placement of the body part with respect to the plurality of touch sensors (see hand [0023] and see fig. 1b with hand over sensors);
receive an indication of device interaction (see [0064], “processing subsystem 302 can translate touch events (see [0064], including taps and/or other gestures made with one or more contacts)”) based on the touch sensor data (see touch sensor [0064]); and
Bas does not specifically however Yairi discloses the touch sensor data comprising pressure data applied by a body of a user (see touch sensor data and pressure data [0035]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Yairi with that of Bas. Doing so would conform to well-known standards.
Bas and Yairi does not specifically disclose however Piao discloses to perform an action (see “ outputting visible information”, bottom of page 12) based at least in part on a predicted velocity (see bottom of page 12, see “speed” element of proximity touch pattern) of the body part relative to the device, the indication of device interaction (see “indicator” based on proximity, etc, bottom of page 12), and the usage pattern (see bottom of page 12 “proximity touch pattern” including various elements such as touch, position etc.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Bas and yairi with that of Piao. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions in the art.
Regarding claim 2, Bas discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive an indication of an impending hand placement associated with the device interaction (see [0039], “a notification can be presented for the user to hold a device in a manner that prevents hand occlusion of the antenna”).
Regarding claim 3, Bas discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the indication of device interaction comprises an indication that the device will be used to make a voice call (see “call” [0051]).
Regarding claim 4, Bas discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the indication of device interaction comprises an indication that the device will be used to play a mobile game (see [0051], “basic device features (e.g., use of primary functions of multiple apps, email apps, ability to place a non-emergency call,” which would include games as a well-known function of mobile phones).
Regarding claim 5, Bas discloses the device of claim 3, wherein the indication of device interaction comprises an indication that the device is being accessed (see [0051], “basic device features (e.g., use of primary functions of multiple apps, email apps, ability to place a non-emergency call”).
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bas et al. (US 2021/0058169 A1) in view of Yairi in further view of Piao in further view of Das et al. (US 2024/0196343 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Bas discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the preventative measure to reduce or eliminate the effects of the antenna occlusion comprises powering off one or more occluded antennas, reducing power to the one or more occluded antennas, increasing power to one or more non-occluded antennas, or any combination thereof (see [0004], wee power of antenna is reduced based on obstruction of the antenna by human body part).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Das with that of Bas. Doing so would improve Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) safety.
Claim(s) 7 & 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bas et al. (US 2021/0058169 A1) in view of Yairi et al. (US 2015/00077398 A1) in further view of Davis et al. (US 2021/004199 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Bas discloses a method, comprising:
receiving, via antenna obstruction detecting logic, touch sensor data from an electronic device (see touch sensor [0061]);
receiving, at the antenna obstruction detecting logic, a usage pattern (see [0023], “Here, a user's hand 120 is positioned over electronic device 105. As a result, a signal from other device 115 may be blocked in its entirety from reaching an antenna or otherwise obstructed. ”) based on the touch sensor data (see touch, [0064]) the usage pattern comprising hand placement with respect to touch sensors of the electronic device (see [0064], “[0064] Touch sensor 352 can include, e.g., a capacitive sensor array with the ability to localize contacts to a particular point or region on the surface of the sensor and in some instances, the ability to distinguish multiple simultaneous contacts.”; Wherein further contacts are in regards to users hand and hand contact), hand movement with respect to the electronic device (see hand gestures [0064] wherein the plurality implies movement), or both; and
performing, via a processor, one or more actions based at least in part on the usage pattern (see [0045] wherein a method is used that alludes to antenna occlusion, see “For example, a predefined rule may indicate that a direction of arrival is not to be calculated when (for example) one or more particular antennas are obstructed, at least a predefined threshold number of antennas are obstructed and/or a degree of obstruction at each of one or more antennas exceeds a predefined magnitude.”), the one or more actions configured to mitigate effects of the antenna occlusion (see [0039], “manner that prevents hand occlusion of the antenna”);
Bas does not specifically disclose however Yairi discloses the touch sensor data comprising pressure data applied by a body part of a user (see touch sensor data and pressure data [0035]);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Yairi with that of Bas. Doing so would conform to well-known standards.
Bas and Yairi do not explicitly disclose however Davis explicitly discloses one or more actions (see “generate output data” [0028] and/or [0064]) based at least in part on a predicted transfer of the electronic device from a first hand placement to a second hand placement (see [0036], hand placement predictor);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Davis with that of Bas and Yairi. Doing so would conform to well-known standards.
Regarding claim 9, Bas discloses the method of claim 7, wherein receiving the touch sensor data comprises receiving first touch sensor data at a first time and receiving second touch sensor data at a second time (see time [0039]).
Regarding claim 10, Bas discloses the method of claim 7, comprising receiving an indication of upcoming user interaction with the electronic device indicative of the usage pattern, wherein performing the one or more actions to mitigate effects of the antenna occlusion is based on the indication (see [0045] wherein a method is used that alludes to antenna occlusion, see “For example, a predefined rule may indicate that a direction of arrival is not to be calculated when (for example) one or more particular antennas are obstructed, at least a predefined threshold number of antennas are obstructed and/or a degree of obstruction at each of one or more antennas exceeds a predefined magnitude.”).
Regarding claim 11, Bas discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the upcoming user interaction with the electronic device comprises an indication of a transition from a first application to a second application.
Regarding claim 12, Bas discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the upcoming user interaction with the electronic device comprises an indication of a transition from a first device orientation to a second device orientation (see orientation [0055]).
Regarding claim 13, Bas discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the upcoming user interaction comprises an indication that the user is making or receiving a voice call (see call [0051]).
Regarding claim 14, Bas discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the indication of the upcoming user interaction comprises an indication that the user is playing a game on the electronic device (see apps, [0051], inherently some would include games).
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bas et al. (US 2021/0058169 A1) in view of Yairi in further view of Davis in further view of Das et al. (US 2024/0196343 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Bas discloses a method of claim 7, Bas does not specifically disclose however Das discloses wherein the one or more actions comprising powering off one or more occluded antennas, reducing power to the one or more occluded antennas, increasing power to one or more non-occluded antennas, or any combination thereof (see [0004], wee power of antenna is reduced based on obstruction of the antenna by human body part);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Das with that of Bas. Doing so would improve Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) safety.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to K. WILFORD SHAHEED whose telephone number is (469) 295-9175. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9 am-6pm; CST; ALT Friday. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. The examiner’s Supervisor, Jinsong Hu, can be reached at (571)272-3965, where attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful.
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/KHALID W SHAHEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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