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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/11/26 has been entered.
Claim Objections
The numbering of claims is not in accordance with 37 CFR 1.126 which requires the original numbering of the claims to be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled, the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When new claims are presented, they must be numbered consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claims previously presented (whether entered or not). Claim 25 appears to have been mistakenly deleted.
Response to Amendment
Receipt is acknowledged of applicant’s amendment filed on 4/10/26. Claims 1, 13, 23, amended. Claims 4, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, and 24 canceled. Claims 26-28 newly added. Claims 1-3, 5-10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 26-28 are pending and an action on the merits is as follows.
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, 5, 6, 8-10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 27, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushnell et al. US Publication No. 2016/0016395, cited by Applicant in view of Higgins et al. US Publication No. 2017/0195807.
Re Claim 1, Bushnell discloses an electronic device, comprising:
a casing (housing 12) defining an enclosure (2, 15) ; a joint between components in the electronic device (P69) ; a light curable adhesive (56) bonding the components at the joint (Fig. 15 and P69) ; and at least one light source internal to the casing and configured to output light for at least partially curing the light curable adhesive in the casing (P69); and a controller coupled with the at least one light source for selectively controlling the output of light for curing the light curable adhesive (P48, P69, The control circuitry and power source may be used in controlling the application of heat to heat activated film 56. Circuitry 86 may include control circuitry such as one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processing circuits, application-specific integrated circuits with control capabilities, or other controller or processing circuitry.P69, control circuitry within device 10 (see, e.g., control circuitry and power source 86 of FIG. 5) may then be used to turn on display 14 (e.g., a light-emitting-diode-based backlight unit in display module 42). The light-emitting diodes in the backlight of display module 42 or other light-emitting components in display 14 produce light 112 in response to being activated by the control circuitry. Light 112 strikes light-curable adhesive 56′ and cures adhesive 56′) .
Bushnell fails to disclose wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-wavelength light source wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of a first wavelength of light from the at least one light source for curing the light curable adhesive; and actuate output of a second wavelength of light from the at least one light source for providing a light indicator at the electronic device, wherein the first wavelength comprises a portion of the UV spectrum.
Higgins discloses wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-wavelength light source wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of a first wavelength of light from the at least one light source for curing the light curable adhesive (P2, P8, P23, P40-44, P47, P77, P89-92); and actuate output of a second wavelength of light from the at least one light source for providing a light indicator at the electronic device, wherein the first wavelength comprises a portion of the UV spectrum (P40-P44, P47, P77).
Given the teachings of Higgins it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bushnell with wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-wavelength light source wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of a first wavelength of light from the at least one light source for curing the light curable adhesive; and actuate output of a second wavelength of light from the at least one light source for providing a light indicator at the electronic device, wherein the first wavelength comprises a portion of the UV spectrum.
Doing so improves curing (P36).
Re Claim 2, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Bushnell discloses a light pipe proximate to the at least one light source for distributing the light to cure the light curable adhesive (P42).
Re Claim 3, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Bushnell discloses wherein the casing is substantially opaque (P3), wherein after the casing is assembled, the light curable adhesive is only exposed to light from the at least one light source (P68-69).
Re Claim 5, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Bushnell discloses: a printed circuit board (PCB) in the enclosure, wherein the at least one light source is coupled with the PCB (P69; Fig. 15).
Re Claim 6, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 5, and Bushnell discloses wherein the at least one light source includes a light emitting diode (LED) (P69, Fig. 15).
Re Claim 8, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 6, and Bushnell discloses wherein the LED is mounted directly to the PCB (P69, Fig. 15). .
Re Claim 9, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 6, and Bushnell discloses wherein the LED includes a multi-directional LED ( P69, Fig. 15).
Re Claim 10, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 6, and Bushnell discloses wherein the PCB is configured to diffuse the light from the LED during curing of the light curable adhesive(P69, Fig. 15, intended use limitation ).
Re Claim 13, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Higgins discloses wherein the controller is configured to output the first wavelength of light during assembly of the electronic device and output the second wavelength of light after assembly of the electronic device is complete(P2, P8, P23, P40-44, P47, P77).
Re Claim 15, Bushnell and Higgins discloses The electronic device of claim 1, and Higgins discloses comprising an at least partially reflective coating within the enclosure for diffusing the light (P36).
Re Claim 16, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Higgins discloses wherein the at least one light source is powered by a device external to the casing, wherein the device external to the casing is configured to power the at least one light source by one or more of: inductive coupling, radio-frequency (RF) communication, trans-enclosure capacitive coupling, or hard-wired power extending through the casing (P23, P76, P82, P85).
Re Claim 18, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 1, and Bushnell discloses wherein the light curable adhesive is additionally cured with humidity exposure (P3, 9), P27.
Re Claim 20, Bushnell and Higgins discloses an audio device comprising the electronic device of claim 1 , and Bushnell discloses wherein the casing is an outermost casing of the audio device (P29. Figs, 2 and 15).
Re Claim 27, Bushnell discloses an electronic device, comprising: a casing (housing 12) defining an enclosure (2, 15); a joint between components in the electronic device (P69); an light curable adhesive (56) bonding the components at the joint (Fig. 15 and P69) ; and at least one light source internal to the casing and configured to output light for at least partially curing the light curable adhesive in the casing (P69).
Bushnell fails to disclose wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-direction light source; and a controller coupled with the at least one light source for selectively controlling the output of light for curing the light curable adhesive, wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a first direction for curing the light curable adhesive; and actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a second direction for providing a light indicator at the electronic device.
Higgins discloses wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-direction light source; and a controller coupled with the at least one light source for selectively controlling the output of light for curing the light curable adhesive, wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a first direction for curing the light curable adhesive; and actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a second direction for providing a light indicator at the electronic device (P2, P8, P23, P40-44, P47, P77, P89-92).
Given the teachings of Higgins it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bushnell with wherein the at least one light source comprises a multi-direction light source; and a controller coupled with the at least one light source for selectively controlling the output of light for curing the light curable adhesive, wherein the controller is programmed to: actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a first direction for curing the light curable adhesive; and actuate output of light from the at least one light source in a second direction for providing a light indicator at the electronic device.
Doing so improves curing (P36).
Re Claim 28, Bushnell and Higgins discloses the electronic device of claim 27, and Bushnell discloses wherein the light curable adhesive is additionally cured with humidity exposure(P3, 9, P27).
Claims 23 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bushnell et al. US Publication No. 2016/0016395, cited by Applicant in view of Higgins et al. US Publication No. 2017/0195807 in view of Silberzahn et al. US Publication No. 2022/0174432.
Re Claim 23, Bushnell discloses an electronic device comprising: a casing (housing 12) defining an enclosure (2, 15) ; a joint between components in the electronic device (P69) ; an light curable adhesive(56) bonding the components at the joint; at least one light source internal to the casing and configured to output light for at least partially curing the light curable adhesive in the casing and a printed circuit board (PCB) in the enclosure, wherein the at least one light source is coupled with the PCB (P69; Fig. 15).
Bushnell fails to specifically disclose wherein the at least one light source is configured to output light in a wavelength range of approximately 315 nanometers (nm) to approximately 480 nm , the PCB is at least partially transparent to enable light from the at least one light source to pass therethrough, or b) the PCB includes a through-hole, and the at least one light source includes a first light source mounted on a first side of the PCB and a second light source mounted in the through-hole in the PCB.
Higgins discloses wherein the at least one light source is configured to output light in a wavelength range of approximately 315 nanometers (nm) to approximately 480 nm (P35, P36).
Given the teachings of Higgins it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bushnell and Higgins with wherein the at least one light source is configured to output light in a wavelength range of approximately 315 nanometers (nm) to approximately 480 nm.
Doing so improves curing (P36).
Bushnell invention as modified by Higgins discloses all of the claimed limitations from above except for a) the PCB is at least partially transparent to enable light from the at least one light source to pass therethrough, or b) the PCB includes a through-hole, and the at least one light source includes a first light source mounted on a first side of the PCB and a second light source mounted in the through-hole in the PCB.
Silberzahn discloses a) the PCB is at least partially transparent to enable light from the at least one light source to pass therethrough, or b) the PCB includes a through-hole, and the at least one light source includes a first light source mounted on a first side of the PCB and a second light source mounted in the through-hole in the PCB (P5, P33).
Given the teachings of Silberzahn it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Bushnell as modified by Higgins with a) the PCB is at least partially transparent to enable light from the at least one light source to pass therethrough, or b) the PCB includes a through-hole, and the at least one light source includes a first light source mounted on a first side of the PCB and a second light source mounted in the through-hole in the PCB.
As suggested by Silberzahn it is typical for electronic component or all of the circuitry elements may be integrated as part of an integrated semiconductor device and/or may be mounted on a printed circuit board (P35, P16).
Re Claim 26, Bushnell, Higgins and Silberzahn discloses the electronic device of claim 23, and Bushnell discloses wherein the light curable adhesive is additionally cured with humidity exposure (P3, 9, P27).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 23 and 27 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
The following reference is cited but not relied upon:
Asselin et al. discloses The rigid structure is configured to reflect at least a portion of the ultraviolet light from a surface of the optically transmissive portion to guide the portion of the ultraviolet within the optically transmissive portion of the rigid structure and out of the distal end of the rigid structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONJI N JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5266. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-9pm.
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, Steven Paik can be reached at 5712722404. 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.
SONJI N. JOHNSON
Examiner
Art Unit 2876
/SONJI N JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONJI N JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5266. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-9pm.
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, Steven Paik can be reached at 5712722404. 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.
SONJI N. JOHNSON
Examiner
Art Unit 2876
Prosecution Insights