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 .
Applicant’s election of Specie I, figures 2A-3, claims 1-10, and 12-17 in the reply filed on 03/05/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because:
In line 1, the term of “may” is not understood because the term “may” that recites to a broad range or limitation followed by linking terms and a narrow range or limitation within the broad range or limitation is considered indefinite since the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired.
Please, change “may include” to - - includes OR is included - - for proper reading.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a plurality of other flexible areas and a plurality of other rigid areas, claim 15, and housing, claim 17” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
None of the figures that show “a plurality of other flexible areas and a plurality of other rigid areas” and “a housing” in any figures. Please, clarify.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahanfar et al. (U.S. 2016/0020506) in view of Song et al. (U.S. Patent 10,474,192).
As to claim 1, Mahanfar discloses an electronic device (10) as shown in figures 1-8 comprising:
a printed circuit board layer (the body composite band 12 of the element 10) including a plurality of flexible areas (14) and a plurality of rigid areas (16);
a wireless charging circuit (para-0016, sensors, energy-storage cells) disposed in a rigid area (16) among the plurality of rigid areas; and
a plurality of wireless charging antennas (18 or para-0016, 0030+) disposed in the plurality of flexible areas (14 or 14a), respectively, and
wherein the plurality of wireless charging antennas (18) each are electrically connected in parallel with the wireless charging circuit (16).
Mahanfar does not specifically disclose each of the wireless charging antennas comprising a coil shape.
Song teaches a wearable smart device (1100) as shown in figures 7-11 comprising each of the wireless charging antennas (1014) comprising a coil shape (column 9, lines 22-26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to have a teaching of Song employed in the electronic device of Mahanfar in order to transmit or receive magnetic fields, tune resonant frequencies while maintain electrical efficiency characteristic.
Regarding claim 2, Mahanfar as modified by Song teaches the plurality of flexible areas (1016) each include a fill-cut area obtained by fill-cutting a portion thereof, and wherein the plurality of wireless charging antennas (1014) are disposed at least partially in respective fill-cut areas.
Regarding claim 3, Mahanfar as modified by Song teaches at least two flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) layers (the flexible substrate 1032 including multilayers 1034, 1036, 1038), wherein the plurality of flexible areas (1016) are formed as partial areas of the at least two FPCB layers.
Regarding claim 16, Mahanfar as modified by Song further comprising at least one sensor (para-0016+), wherein the at least one sensor is disposed in at least one of the plurality of rigid areas (16).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15, and 17 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.
Claims 15 and 17 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the Objection of Drawings, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN T DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-1929. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm, M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Dole can be reached at 571-272-2229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TUAN T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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