Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/120,921

ANTENNA AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Mar 13, 2023
Examiner
DUONG, DIEU HIEN
Art Unit
2845
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allow Rate
803 granted / 1028 resolved
+10.1% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+17.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
1051
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
49.1%
+9.1% vs TC avg
§102
31.4%
-8.6% vs TC avg
§112
15.9%
-24.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1028 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 § 102 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oka (US 6441791). Regarding claim 17, Oka discloses in Figure 1, an antenna, comprising: a feed pattern (2-4) comprising a first connector region; and a ground pattern comprising a first ground region (6), a first coupling region (region between 6 and 5) connected to the first ground region (6), a second ground region connected to the first coupling region and comprising a second connector region (5), and a second coupling region (73) connected to the second ground region, wherein the second coupling region (73) expands from the second connector region (5) of the second ground region and the second coupling region (73) is configured to be electrically connected to a ground end of a cable (7). 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. Claims 18-20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20190334254) in view of Oka (US 6441791). PNG media_image1.png 640 946 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 18, Wu discloses in Figure 1, an antenna, comprising: a feed pattern (12) comprising a first connector region; and a ground pattern comprising: a first ground region, a first coupling region connected to the first ground region, a second ground region connected to the first coupling region and comprising a second connector region, and a second coupling region connected to the second ground region, the second coupling region expanding from the second connector region of the second ground region; wherein the first coupling region is configured to at least partially enclose the feed pattern (12). Wu does not disclose the second coupling region configured to be electrically connected to a ground end of a cable. Oka discloses in Figure 1, the second coupling region (73) is configured to be electrically connected to a ground end of a cable (7). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the second coupling region of Wu with the second coupling region as taught by Oka to provide ground connection for the cable of the antenna. Therefore, to employ having the second coupling region as claimed invention would have been obvious to person skill in the art. Regarding claim 19, as applied to claim 17, Wu discloses in Figure 1, wherein the first coupling region comprises: a first periphery positioned in a first side of the feed pattern; a second periphery positioned in a second side of the feed pattern opposite to the first side of the feed pattern; and a third periphery positioned in a third side of the feed pattern between the first side and the second side of the feed pattern and configured to connect the first periphery to the second periphery. Regarding claim 20, as applied to claim 17, Wu discloses in Figure 1, wherein the second coupling region expands from the second ground region. Regarding claim 22, Wu discloses every feature of claimed invention as expressly recited in claim 17, except for wherein the antenna has a bandwidth of a frequency band of about 1,000 MHz in a low- band frequency, about 2,300 MHz in a mid-band frequency, about 2,700 MHz in a high-band frequency, and about 4,300 MHz in an ultra-high- band frequency. However, such difference is not patentable merit. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select an antenna having a bandwidth a frequency band of about 1,000 MHz in a low-band frequency, about 2,300 MHz in a mid-band frequency, about 2,700 MHz in a high-band frequency, and about 4,300 MHz in an ultra-high- band frequency to support operating in bands covering frequency ranges assigned to electronic device based on particular application or environment of use and it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only ordinary skill in the art. Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20190334254) in view of Oka and further in view of Qiu (CN 208589979). Regarding claim 21, Wu and Oka disclose every feature of claimed invention as expressly recited in claim 18, except for a first capacitor separating the first ground region and the first coupling region; and a second capacitor separating the first coupling region and the second ground region. Qiu discloses in Figure 1, a first capacitor (12) separating the first ground region (13) and the first coupling region (113); and a second capacitor (14) separating the first coupling region (113) and the second ground region (15). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first coupling region of Wu with the first coupling having the first and second capacitors as taught by Qiu to control ground pattern current and change radiation pattern of the antenna. Therefore, to employ having the first capacitor and second capacitor as claimed invention would have been obvious to person skill in the art. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-16 and 23 are allowed. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 17-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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. Inquiry Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEU HIEN T DUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-8980. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm. 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, DIMARY CRUZ LOPEZ can be reached at 571-270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DIEU HIEN T DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 13, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 04, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Nov 03, 2025
Interview Requested
Dec 08, 2025
Examiner Interview Summary
Dec 08, 2025
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jan 07, 2026
Response Filed
Feb 21, 2026
Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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MICROSTRIP ANTENNA AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
78%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+17.0%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1028 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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