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 .
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 1-7 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2020/0267863; hereinafter “Kim”) in view of Lim et al. (US 2018/0183912; hereinafter “Lim”).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches an electronic device (Figs. 1-20) comprising:
a housing (401, Figs. 16-18) comprising an outer wall (wall of 410, Figs. 16-18 and 20) that defines a side surface of the electronic device and comprises at least one opening (413, Fig. 20) and an inner wall (IW of 415a, Fig. 20) spaced apart from the outer wall to provide a groove (415, Fig. 16; also groove defined from IW and BS in Fig. 20) therebetween;
an input button (511, Fig. 20) inserted into the opening;
a waterproof member (301a, Fig. 20) disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall and comprising a protrusion (313a, Fig. 20) that comes into contact with one surface of the outer wall (as shown in Fig. 20 at C);
a switch module (315+301b, Fig. 20) comprising a switch (same as 315); and
a bracket (302 and/or 301c which function like a bracket, Fig. 20) disposed between the switch module and the inner wall,
wherein the protrusion provides a structure includes a first area (top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) and a second area (bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) extending from the first area (as shown in Fig. 20), a height of the first area (height of top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) being same as a height of the second area (height of bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) with reference to a surface of the waterproof member corresponding to a position where the input button is disposed (as shown in Fig. 20).
Kim does not teach the height of the first area being higher than the height of the second area. However, Lim teaches a height of a first area (615, Fig. 9B) being higher than a height of a second area (614, Fig. 9B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the height of the first area is higher than the height of the second area in Kim, as taught by Lim, in order to waterproofing the electronic device with different inner wall and outer wall dimension. Furthermore, such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in form and shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976). In this case, the protrusion can be shaped differently depending on the shape of the groove, and this change in shape/protrusion of the waterproof member does not provide any unexpected results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 2, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein at least one of the outer wall and the inner wall comprises an inclined surface (see cropped Fig. 20 below) that forms an inclined angle with respect to a surface perpendicular to a bottom surface (BS, Fig. 20) of the groove.
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Regarding claim 3, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the switch module further comprises a circuit board (301b, Fig. 20), and the switch is configured to come into contact with a contact point of the circuit board that faces the switch to transmit a signal to the circuit board embedded in the switch module (not shown, but inherent in order to transmit action of the button member 511; [0066]).
Regarding claim 4, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the bracket is disposed such that one surface (right surface of 321 and/or 301c in Fig. 20) of the bracket faces the switch module and at least one surface (left surface of 321 and or 301c in Fig. 20) of the bracket faces the inner wall.
Regarding claim 5, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches at least one support member (if 301c is considered as the bracket, then 321 of 302 can be considered as the support member; or [0101]: “… The fixing member 302 may further include a leaf spring structure or a protrusion structure… so that the key assembly 301 may be brought into close contact with the inner wall of the housing 401…”) disposed between the bracket and the inner wall and configured to support the bracket from the inner wall.
Regarding claim 6, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 5, and Kim further teaches wherein the at least one support member is disposed such that one surface thereof is connected to the bracket and another surface protrudes in a direction toward the inner wall relative to the bracket ([0101]: “… The fixing member 302 may further include a leaf spring structure or a protrusion structure… so that the key assembly 301 may be brought into close contact with the inner wall of the housing 401…”).
Regarding claim 7, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 5, and Kim further teaches at least one accommodation part (part of housing 401 that accommodate 301 and 302 in Fig. 20) configured to be capable of accommodating the at least one support member on at least one surface of the bracket that comes into contact with the at least one support member (301c contact with 321 as shown in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 9, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 5, and Kim further teaches an adhesive member (not shown, but mentioned in [0081]: “…such as an adhesive…”) configured to bond the bracket (consider 301c as the bracket) and the at least one support member (321) to each other.
Regarding claim 10, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the first area provides a structure protruding to a portion (top 313a near C in Fig. 20) above the second area with reference to a bottom surface (BS, Fig. 20) of the groove from one surface of the waterproof member corresponding to a position where the input button is disposed (as shown in Fig. 20).
Regarding claim 11, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the protrusion comprises:
a third area (such as right side of 313a in Fig. 13) interconnecting one ends of the first area and the second area; and
a fourth area (such as left side of 313a in Fig. 13) interconnecting other ends of the first area and the second area and facing the third area, and
wherein the third area and the fourth area have a height that is same from the second area toward the first area with reference to the one surface of the waterproof member corresponding to the position where the input button is disposed (self-explanatory from Fig. 13).
Kim does not teach the third area and the fourth area have a height that gradually increases from the second area toward the first area. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the third area and the fourth area have a height that gradually increases from the second area toward the first area in Kim in view of Lim, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in form and shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976). In this case, the protrusion can be shaped/sloped differently depending on the shape/slope of the groove, and this change in shape/slope of the waterproof member does not provide any unexpected results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 12, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the bracket comprises: a first bracket (301c, Fig. 20) facing the switch module and supporting the switch (support 315); and a second bracket (302, Fig. 20) disposed between the first bracket and the inner wall.
Regarding claim 13, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 12, and Kim further teaches wherein the second bracket further comprises:
a first portion (321, Fig. 20) facing the first bracket and inserted into the groove from an upper end of the inner wall (upper end of IW in Fig. 20); and
a second portion (325, Fig. 20) extending from one end of the first portion and bent toward one surface of the inner wall (see bent between 325 and 321 in Fig. 20), and
wherein the second portion is configured to support the second bracket from the inner wall (325 support 302 from IW through 321 and other components in Fig. 20).
Regarding claim 14, Kim teaches a method of an electronic device (Figs. 1-20), the method comprising:
molding (same as shaping) a housing (401, 410, 411, Figs. 16-18, 20) comprising an outer wall (wall of 410, Figs. 16-18 and 20) that defines a side surface of the electronic device and comprises at least one opening (413, Fig. 20) and an inner wall (IW of 415a, Fig. 20) spaced apart from the outer wall to provide a groove (415, Fig. 16; also groove defined from IW and BS in Fig. 20) therebetween;
manufacturing a button assembly (301, 302, Fig. 20) comprising a waterproof member (301a, Fig. 20) that is disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall and comprising a protrusion (313a, Fig. 20) that comes into contact with one surface of the outer wall, and a first bracket (301c which function like a bracket, Fig. 20) that faces a switch module (315, 301b, Fig. 20) to support a switch (same as 315), wherein the switch module is disposed between the waterproof member and the first bracket (as shown in Fig. 20), the protrusion of the button providing a structure that includes a first area (top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) and a second area (bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) extend from the first area (as shown in Fig. 20), a height of the first area (height of top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) being same as a height of the second area (height of bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) with reference to a surface of the waterproof member corresponding to a position where the input button is disposed (as shown in Fig. 20);
inserting the button assembly from an upper end of the inner wall (upper end of IW in Fig. 20) into the groove such that the protrusion of the waterproof member comes into contact with the one surface of the outer wall (see C in Fig. 20); and
inserting, into the groove from the upper end of the inner wall, a second bracket (302, Fig. 20) disposed between the button assembly and the inner wall and configured to support the button assembly (as shown in Fig. 20).
Kim does not teach the height of the first area being higher than the height of the second area. However, Lim teaches a height of a first area (615, Fig. 9B) being higher than a height of a second area (614, Fig. 9B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the height of the first area is higher than the height of the second area in Kim, as taught by Lim, in order to waterproofing the electronic device with different inner wall and outer wall dimension. Furthermore, such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in form and shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976). In this case, the protrusion can be shaped differently depending on the shape of the groove, and this change in shape/protrusion of the waterproof member does not provide any unexpected results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 15, Kim in view of Lim teaches the method of claim 14, and Kim further teaches wherein the inserting of the second bracket (302) further comprising a support member ([0108]: “… the fixing member 302 may include a leaf spring structure or a protruding structure protruding from one surface, so that the key assembly may be stably restricted from moving ”) configured to support the second bracket from the inner wall (directly or indirectly).
Kim does not explicitly teach the support member disposing between the second bracket and the inner wall. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the support member disposing between the second bracket and the inner wall in Kim in view of Lim, since All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, inserting the support member between the second bracket and the inner wall would allow a tighter fit and prevent water from getting into the electronic device.
Regarding claim 16, Kim teaches an electronic device (Figs. 1-20) comprising:
a housing (401, Figs. 16-18) including an outer wall (wall of 410, Figs. 16-17 and 20) and an inner wall (IW of 415a, Fig. 20), the outer wall and the inner wall defining a groove (415, Fig. 16; also groove defined from IW and BS in Fig. 20); and
a button assembly (301, 302, 511, Fig. 20) including a waterproof member (301a, Fig. 20), a first bracket (301b and/or 301c which function like a bracket, Fig. 20), and a second bracket (302, Fig. 20), the first bracket interposed between the waterproof member and the second bracket (301b and/or 301c interposed between 301a and 321 of 302), the button assembly inserted into the groove in a first direction (downward in -Z direction in Fig. 20) so that the waterproof member contacts a first surface of the outer wall (surface of 410 where C point to in Fig. 20) and so that the second bracket is inserted between the button assembly and the inner wall (as shown in Fig. 20),
the waterproof member including a protrusion (313a, Fig. 20) that provides a structure having a first area (top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) and a second area (bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) extending from the first area (as shown in Fig. 20), a height of the first area (height of top protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) being same as a height of the second area (height of bottom protrusion area of 313a in Fig. 20) with reference to a surface of the waterproof member corresponding to a position where the button assembly is disposed (as shown in Fig. 20),
wherein at least one surface of the second bracket has a shape corresponding to at least one surface of the inner wall (shape match as shown in Fig. 20) to prevent the button assembly from moving due to a repulsive force of the waterproof member (301a may be made of an elastic material, so it inherently have repulsive force; [0106]: “…repulsive force caused by the elastic force…””).
Kim does not teach the height of the first area being higher than the height of the second area. However, Lim teaches a height of a first area (615, Fig. 9B) being higher than a height of a second area (614, Fig. 9B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the height of the first area is higher than the height of the second area in Kim, as taught by Lim, in order to waterproofing the electronic device with different inner wall and outer wall dimension. Furthermore, such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in form and shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976). In this case, the protrusion can be shaped differently depending on the shape of the groove, and this change in shape/protrusion of the waterproof member does not provide any unexpected results to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 17, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 16, and Kim further teaches wherein the at least one surface (surface of 321 of 302, Fig. 20) of the second bracket is in contact with the inner wall (IW) such that the second bracket is supported by the inner wall to fix the button assembly in place (as shown in Fig. 20).
Regarding claim 18, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 17, and Kim further teaches wherein the button assembly includes an input button (511, Fig. 20) configured to move in a second direction (left in -X direction in Fig. 20) perpendicular to the first direction.
Regarding claim 19, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 18, and Kim further teaches wherein when the input button moves in the second direction, the second bracket prevents movement of itself and the button assembly due to a repulsive force of the waterproof member ([0106] and self-explanatory in Fig. 20).
Regarding claim 20, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 19, and Kim further teaches wherein the second bracket seals a space between the housing and the waterproof member by preventing the button assembly from moving when the input button moves in the second direction (as shown in Fig. 20 and also see abstract).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Lim, and further in view of Cho et al. (US 2019/0317553; hereinafter “Cho”).
Regarding claim 8, Kim in view of Lim teaches the electronic device of claim 5. Kim does not teach wherein the inner wall comprises, in one surface thereof, at least one recess in which the at least one support member is accommodated. However, Cho teaches an inner wall (inner wall near 613, Fig. 6B) comprises, in one surface thereof, at least one recess in which at least one support member (recess that accommodate 631) is accommodated (see cropped Fig. 8B below).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the inner wall comprises, in one surface thereof, at least one recess in which the at least one support member is accommodated in Kim in view of Lim, as taught by Cho, in order to firmly secure the support member in the recess.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 JAMES WU whose telephone number is (571)270-7974. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00AM - 5:00PM.
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/JAMES WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841