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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in China on 8/21/2020.
Specification
Previous specification objection withdrawn.
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 in a case that the electronic device is in a folding state, the flexible screen is located on an outer side of the electronic device of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 first portion that is of the flexible screen and that is on the first folding portion is disposed opposite to a second portion that is of the flexible screen and that is on the second folding portion of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 the first outer surface is coplanar with a surface where the notch of the first guide groove is located of claim 6 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 the second outer surface is coplanar with a surface where the notch of the second guide groove is located of claim 8 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 § 112
Previous 112 rejections withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites ‘the notch’. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. One of ordinary skill in the art doubts which component is intended.
Claim 8 recites ‘the notch’. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. One of ordinary skill in the art doubts which component is intended.
Claim 9 recites ‘the sheet-like fixing portion’. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. One of ordinary skill in the art doubts which component is intended.
Claim 10 is rejected for depending upon an indefinite claim.
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 of this title, 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, 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN107690010A (of record from IDS filed 2/14/2023, hereinafter CN) in view of Park (US 20190132432 A1, hereinafter Park)
Claim 1. CN teaches an electronic device, comprising:
a first folding portion (110, fig 2);
a second folding portion (120);
a connecting portion (inner portion of 200, the specification recites ‘There is a gap between the first front case 111 and the first rear case 113, the second front case 121 and the second rear case 123, and a battery module, a chip module, etc. of the flexible screen folding mobile terminal 10 may be installed in the gap’), wherein the connecting portion is a sheet-like elastic member (since 200 is flexible);
a flexible screen (screen of 200, fig 2);
a rotating shaft assembly (330); and
a connecting rod assembly (310, 320, fig 6), wherein:
the first folding portion is rotatably connected to the second folding portion through the connecting portion (figs 1, 2), wherein:
the first folding portion, the second folding portion, and the connecting portion form a support structure (structure which holds 200), and
the flexible screen and the rotating shaft assembly are respectively disposed on a first surface (back right surfaces of 110, 120 of fig 4) and a second surface (front left surfaces of 110, 120 of fig 4) of the support structure;
the rotating shaft assembly comprises a rotating shaft (331, 333), wherein:
the rotating shaft is located at a position that is on the second surface (figs 2-4) and that is opposite to the connecting portion (since 300 fits in the gap between 110, 120 of figs 2-4),
while the electronic device is being unfolded or folded, the first folding portion or the second folding portion rotate relative to the rotating shaft (figs 1, 2),
the connecting rod assembly comprises a first connecting rod (310) and a second connecting rod (320), wherein:
a first end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft assembly (330), and a second end of the first connecting rod is connected to the first folding portion (fig 6),
a first end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft assembly (330), and a second end of the second connecting rod is connected to the second folding portion (fig 6); and
while the electronic device is being unfolded, the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod respectively drive the first folding portion and the second folding portion to be away from each other (the specification recites ‘During the deployment of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120, the first connecting rod 310 drives the connecting shaft 330 away from the first housing 110 in the width direction of the first housing 110. The first housing 110 and the connecting shaft As the gap between the rollers 330 increases, the second link 320 drives the connecting shaft 330 away from the second housing 120 in the width direction of the second housing 120, and the gap between the second housing 120 and the connecting shaft 330 increases. The deployment of the flexible screen folding mobile terminal 10 can be achieved’, see also fig 2), and the connecting portion is increased (the specification indicates that the gap increases, also since the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the greater the curve implies a larger total distance),
wherein:
the rotating shaft assembly (330) further comprises a first rotating member (610) and a second rotating member (620, fig 8), wherein the first rotating member and the second rotating member are rotationally connected through the rotating shaft (fig 8);
the first folding portion comprises a first folding body (111, figs 4, 8), wherein the first folding body comprises a first guide groove (groove between 111 and 610, fig 8),
the second folding portion comprises a second folding body (121, figs 4, 8), wherein the second folding body comprises a second guide groove (groove between 121 and 620, fig 8),
the first folding portion, the second folding portion, and the connecting portion form an accommodating groove (groove between 110, 120 of fig 8),
the rotating shaft, a portion of the first rotating member, and a portion of the second rotating member are all disposed in the accommodating groove (fig 8), and
the first guide groove and the second guide groove are both in communication with the accommodating groove (fig 8).
However, one could argue that CN fails to teach the connecting portion is a sheet-like elastic member;
the first folding portion is rotatably connected to the second folding portion through the connecting portion
Park teaches a connecting portion (201, figs 1, 4) is a sheet-like elastic member ([0023] recites ‘The flexible cover 201 may be formed of a flexible and excellently resilient cloth material such as lycra, creora, or knit, or a soft material such as silicon or rubber’)
the first folding portion is rotatably connected to the second folding portion through the connecting portion (fig 1)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a connecting portion as taught by Park into the device of CN. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify CN in the above manner for the purpose of preventing foreign matter from infiltrating into the hinge (Park [0022])
Claim 2. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein CN further teaches a distance between the first end of the first connecting rod and the first end of the second connecting rod is greater than a diameter of the rotating shaft (fig 6).
Claim 3. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein CN further teaches
a first end of the first rotating member is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft (fig 8), a second end of the first rotating member extends into the first guide groove (fig 8), and the first rotating member slidably matches the first guide groove along with relative rotation between the first folding portion and the second folding portion (specification recites ‘The first sliding sleeve 610 is slidably sleeved on the first rotating shaft 331 and is rotatably connected with the first rotating shaft 331’); and
a first end of the second rotating member is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft, a second end of the second rotating member extends into the second guide groove, and the second rotating member slidably matches the second guide groove along with the relative rotation between the first folding portion and the second folding portion (specification recites ‘The second sliding sleeve 620 is slidably sleeved on the second rotating shaft 333 and is rotatably connected with the second rotating shaft 333’).
Claim 5. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 3, wherein CN further teaches the first folding portion further comprises a first cover plate (113), wherein:
the first guide groove extends toward a direction away from the rotating shaft assembly (into the page of fig 6), and
an end (nearby 610, fig 8) that is of the first guide groove and that is adjacent to the rotating shaft assembly is a first open end (fig 8).
Claim 6. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 5, wherein CN further teaches
the first cover plate (113) is supported on a first support table (support table of inner side wall of 111 that reaches towards 113, fig 4, see also fig 2)
a surface (outer surface to the bottom left of fig 4) that is of the first cover plate and that is opposite to the first guide groove is a first outer surface (fig 4),
the first outer surface is coplanar with a surface where the notch of the first guide groove is located (since 113 is coplanar with 111).
Claim 7. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 5, wherein CN further teaches the second folding portion further comprises a second cover plate (123), wherein:
the second guide groove extends toward a direction away from the rotating shaft assembly (into the page of fig 6), and
an end (nearby 620, fig 8) that is of the second guide groove and that is adjacent to the rotating shaft assembly is a second open end (fig 8).
Claim 8. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 7, wherein CN further teaches the second cover plate (123) is supported on a second support table (support table of inner side wall of 121 that reaches towards 123, fig 4, see also fig 2),
a surface (outer surface to the bottom left of fig 4) that is of the second cover plate and that is opposite to the second guide groove is a second outer surface (outer surface of 123 of fig 4), and
the second outer surface is coplanar with a surface where the notch of the second guide groove is located (since 123 is coplanar with 121).
Claim 9. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein CN further teaches wherein:
the sheet-like fixing portion (410, 420, fig 7, specification recites ‘410 is a thin steel sheet’) comprises a flange protruding (311, 321) from a peripheral wall surface (left part of 410, right part of 420) of the rotating shaft,
a first connecting hole (313, fig 7) is disposed in a portion that is of the flange (fig 7) and that is adjacent to the first folding portion (fig 7),
a second connecting hole (323, fig 7) is disposed in a portion that is of the flange (fig 7) and that is adjacent to the second folding portion (fig 7),
an end of the first connecting rod (310) is hinged with the first connecting hole (fig 7), and
an end of the second connecting rod (320) is hinged with the second connecting hole (fig 7).
Claim 10. CN in view of Park teaches the electronic device according to claim 9, wherein CN teaches the sheet-like fixing portion is detachably connected to the rotating shaft (fig 7 shows screws, also 311, 321 are smaller than slots 313, 323).
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular elements, columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not found persuasive. Applicant argues in response to claim 1:
‘Application respectfully traverses the objection and submits that the statutory and regulatory requirements for drawings do not require the drawings to show every feature of the invention. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. $ 113 and 37 C.F.R. $ 1.81(a), drawings are required only where they are "necessary for the understanding of the subject matter to be patented" (see 35 U.S.C. §113) and that "It]he applicant for a patent is required to furnish a drawing of the invention where necessary for the understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented" (see 37 C.F.R. $1.81(a)).’
However as shows above, the drawings must show every feature of the claimed invention.
37 C.F.R. 1.83 Content of drawing.
(a) The drawing in a nonprovisional application must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. However, conventional features disclosed in the description and claims, where their detailed illustration is not essential for a proper understanding of the invention, should be illustrated in the drawing in the form of a graphical drawing symbol or a labeled representation (e.g., a labeled rectangular box).
Applicant further argues:
‘Thus, CN docs not disclose, at least, that "a connecting portion, wherein folding the connecting portion is a sheet-like elastic member; wherein first portion the is rotatably connected to the second folding portion through the connecting portion," let alone "the first folding portion, the second folding portion, and the connecting portion form an accommodating groove, the rotating shaft, a portion of the first rotating member, and a portion of the second rotating member are all disposed in the accommodating groove, and the first guide groove and the second guide groove are both in communication with the accommodating groove," now required by amened claim 1.’
However the combination of references do teach these limitations as shown in the rejections above.
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 DOUGLAS R BURTNER whose telephone number is (571)272-0966. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Allen Parker can be reached on 303-297-4722. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DOUGLAS R BURTNER/ Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /ROCKSHANA D CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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