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 Amendment
The amendment filed 1/12/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 35 USC 103 rejection of claims 13-20, have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the references being used in the current rejection. Note discussion of US Patent 8124216 issued to Antonini, below.
Applicant's arguments regarding the 35 USC 103 rejections of Claims 1-20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for these reasons:
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that the drawing objections have been overcome the new amened drawings attached (Page 6), the examiner points out that there is no new amended drawing sheets attached to the applicants response filed 1/12/2026.
Applicant's arguments regarding the 35 USC 103 rejections of Claims 1-12 have been fully considered and are persuasive:
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that amendments to claim 1 overcome the rejection (Page 7), the examiner agrees and after further searching and consideration determines claims 1-12 to be allowable.
Claim Objections
Claims 13 and 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
(Claim 13, line 9) “spacer” may be “a spacer”
(Claim 19, line 14) “remainer” may be “remainder”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 412. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show seam 322 and instead point to a curved portion of the panel in Fig 3 as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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.
Claims 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Publication 20160323002 by Cho in view of 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g51mFRwxOC0 by Random (Here forth “Random”) and US Patent 8124216 issued to Antonini (Here forth “Antonini”).
Regarding claim 13, Cho discloses a device (Fig A of Cho, the device is a wrap) comprising:
a first rigid planar panel having a contact surface and a cosmetic surface (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, the first planar rigid panel has a cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements and a contact surface that lays against the electronic device);
a second rigid panel having another a contact surface and another cosmetic surface (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, the second rigid panel has cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements and a contact surface that lays against the electronic device),
the second rigid panel movably connected to the first rigid planar panel by a hinged connector longitudinally between the first rigid planar panel and the second rigid panel (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, hinged connector movably connects the first and second planar rigid panels);
a [Not taught: raised] frictious material positioned on [Not taught: less than an entirety] of at least one contact surface of the first rigid planar panel (Para 54 and Fig 10 of Cho, the material is made of rubber which is a frictious material);
[Not taught: spacer protruding from at least one of the first rigid panel and the second rigid panel in a lateral direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction], and
a selective connector including:
a first connection interface coupled to the first planar rigid panel, and
a second connection interface coupled to the second rigid panel (Para 120, Fig 4 of Cho and Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, first connection interface is magnetic and connects to a second connection interface coupled to the first rigid panel).
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Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho
Cho does not expressly disclose the following Limitations:
Limitation A: a spacer
Limitation B: a raised frictious material positioned on less than an entirety of at least one contact surface of the first rigid planar panel
Random discloses a similar electronic device and wrap that teaches Limitation A, at least one spacer protruding from at least one of the first rigid panel and the second rigid panel in a lateral direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction (Fig B of Random, a panel is extended out to include a spacer that occupies space and behaves a grip that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction; when modifying Cho, the spacer includes a portion of a rigid board).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Cho and Random before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the device and wrap of Cho to extend the panel portion out to include a spacer attached to a panel, as taught by Random, to advantageously aid in gripping, holding or pulling the spacer when needed to handle the device and wrap.
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Fig B-Examiner Annotated Fig of Timestamp 0:06s
Additionally and in the alternate, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the application was filed to have the spacer located at the same location of the panel as that of the instant application taught by Limitation A, wherein the spacer is proximate to the hinged connector, selective connector, and longitudinal center of a rigid panel, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation.
Antonini discloses a similar cover for an electronic device that teaches Limitation B, a raised frictious material positioned on less than an entirety of at least one contact surface of the first rigid planar panel (Fig 2 of Antonini, Column 3 lines 53-67, raised fricticious circular members 39 can be positioned on certain portions of the electronics cover and can allow airflow between the remainder of the first rigid panel and electronic device).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Cho and Antonini before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the device and wrap of Cho to include raised frictious material contacting the surface of the cover/wrap contacting the electronic device, as taught by Cho, to advantageously provide a good grip of the cover/wrap on the electronic device.
Regarding claim 14, Cho as modified includes all of the Limitations including wherein the spacer is proximate to the hinged connector (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 13, Fig A of Cho and Fig B of Random and obviousness rejections).
Regarding claim 15, Cho as modified includes all of the Limitations including wherein the spacer is proximate to the selective connector (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 13, Fig A of Cho and Fig B of Random and obviousness rejections).
Regarding claim 16, Cho as modified includes all of the Limitations including wherein the spacer is proximate to a longitudinal center of the first rigid planar panel in the longitudinal direction (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 13, Fig A of Cho and Fig B of Random and obviousness rejections).
Regarding claim 17, Cho as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the spacer includes a portion of a rigid board (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 13, the rigid panel contains a rigid board/plate that forms the panel and when modified with Random to extend the panel to create a spacer, the spacer includes a rigid board).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho, Random, and Antonini in view of US Publication 2009/0129866 by Smallwood (Here forth “Smallwood”) .
Regarding claim 18, Cho as modified does not expressly disclose the following Limitation:
Limitation C: adjacent prayer seam
Smallwood teaches a similar device that teaches Limitation C, wherein the spacer is reinforced relative to an adjacent prayer seam (Para 37 of Smallwood, the concept of attaching two materials together via a prayer seam is taught).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Cho as modified and Smallwood before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the device of Cho to include a prayer seam that would be reinforced relative to a prayer seam, as taught by Smallwood, to advantageously reduce weak points (Para 30).
Claims 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Cho in view of Antonini.
Regarding claim 19, Cho discloses a system comprising:
an electronic device having a first side that includes a non-planar feature normal to the first side (Fig A- Examiner annotated Fig 4 of Cho, there is an electronic device that has sides that are curved and non-planar in the normal/perpendicular direction to the first side of the device); and
a wrap (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho) including:
a first rigid panel having a contact surface and a cosmetic surface (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, the first rigid panel has a cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements and a contact surface that lays against the electronic device) and comprising an alignment feature protruding from the contact surface to interact with the non-planar feature of the first side of the electronic device (Fig 1 of Cho, coupling boss 215 is the alignment feature that protrude from the contact surface to interact with the non-planar feature of the electronic device that is located within),
a second rigid panel having a contact surface and a cosmetic surface (Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, the second rigid panel has cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements and a contact surface that lays against the electronic device),
the second rigid panel movably connected to the first rigid panel by a hinged connector (Fig A- Examiner annotated Fig 4 of Cho, hinged connector movably connects the first and second rigid panels),
[Not taught: a raised frictious] material positioned on [Not taught: less than an entirety of the] contact surface of the second rigid panel [Not taught: to allow airflow between a remainer of the first rigid panel and the electronic device] (Para 54 and Fig 10 of Cho, the material is made of rubber which is a frictious material),
and
a selective connector including:
a first connection interface coupled to the first rigid panel, and
a second connection interface coupled to the second rigid panel (Para 120, Fig 4 of Cho and Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho, first connection interface is magnetic and connects to a second connection interface coupled to the first rigid panel).
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Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho
Cho does not expressly disclose the following limitations:
Limitation D: a raised frictious material positioned on less than an entirety of the contact surface of the second rigid panel to allow airflow between a remainer of the first rigid panel and the electronic device
Antonini discloses a similar cover for an electronic device that teaches Limitation D, a raised frictious material positioned on less than an entirety of the contact surface of the second rigid panel to allow airflow between a remainer of the first rigid panel and the electronic device (Fig 2 of Antonini, Column 3 lines 53-67, raised fricticious circular members 39 can be positioned on certain portions of the electronics cover and can allow airflow between the remainder of the first rigid panel and electronic device).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Cho and Antonini before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the device and wrap of Cho to include raised frictious material contacting the surface of the cover/wrap contacting the electronic device, as taught by Cho, to advantageously provide a good grip of the cover/wrap on the electronic device.
Claim 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho and Antonini in view of 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g51mFRwxOC0 by Random (Here forth “Random”).
Regarding claim 20,Cho as modified does not expressly disclose the following Limitations:
Limitation E: a spacer
Random discloses a similar electronic device and wrap that teaches Limitation E, the wrap further including at least one spacer protruding from at least one of the first rigid panel and the second rigid panel in a lateral direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction (Fig B- Examiner Annotated Fig of Timestamp 0.06s of Random, a panel includes a spacer that occupies space and behaves a grip).
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Fig B-Examiner Annotated Fig of Timestamp 0:06s
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Cho as modified and Random before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the modified device and wrap of Cho to include a spacer attached to a panel, as taught by Random, to advantageously aid in gripping, holding or pulling the spacer when needed to handle the device and wrap.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 are allowed.
Regarding claim 1, US Publication 20160323002 by Cho (Here forth “Cho”) discloses a device comprising:
a first rigid panel having a contact surface and an opposing cosmetic surface (Fig A of Cho, the first rigid panel has a cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements opposite a contact surface that lays against the electronic device);
a second rigid panel having a contact surface and an opposing cosmetic surface (Fig A of Cho, the second rigid panel has cosmetic surface that is exposed to the external elements opposing a contact surface that lays against the electronic device), the second rigid panel movably connected to the first rigid panel by a hinged connector (Fig A of Cho, hinged connector movably connects the first and second rigid panels);
a frictious material positioned on the contact surface of the first rigid panel (Para 54 and Fig 10 of Cho, the material is made of rubber which is a frictious material located on the first rigid panel) [Not taught: and having a line pattern corresponding to the cosmetic line pattern]; and
a selective connector, including:
a first connection interface coupled to the first rigid panel, and
a second connection interface coupled to the second rigid panel (Para 120, Fig 4 and A of Cho, first connection interface is magnetic and connects to a second connection interface coupled to the first rigid panel).
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Fig A- Examiner Annotated Fig 4 of Cho
Cho does not expressly disclose the following Limitations:
Limitation F: a frictious material positioned on the contact surface of the first rigid panel and having a line pattern corresponding to the cosmetic line pattern
Cho does not expressly disclose Limitation F a frictious material positioned on the contact surface of the first rigid panel and having a line pattern corresponding to the cosmetic line pattern
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL whose telephone number is (571)272-6655. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Jenness can be reached at 571-270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/DON M ANDERSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733