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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of previously cited prior art references on PTO-892 mailed on 7/15/2025. Applicant's representative is invited to telephone the examiner for any clarification of any matter in this case.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 1-17 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin US Patent Application Publication 2014/0375522.
Regarding Claim 1, Lin teaches an antenna module (antenna structure 100 Fig. 1 Par. 0015), comprising:
a substrate (circuit board 220 Fig. 1 Par. 0015); and
an antenna structure (antenna structure 100 Fig. 1 Par. 0015) disposed on the substrate and comprising a radiating portion (30 Fig. 1 Par. 0016), a feeding portion (10 Fig. 1 Par. 0016), a ground plane (“The circuit board 220 includes a feed point (not shown) and a ground point (not shown)” Par. 0015, “The ground portion 20 is electronically connected to the ground point of the circuit board 220 by metal wires inside the circuit board 220. In this exemplary embodiment, the ground portion 20 is also positioned at a plane parallel to the plane of the circuit board 220” Par. 0017), and an impedance adjustment portion (70 Fig. 1 Par. 0016, 0022),
wherein the feeding portion is coupled to the radiating portion and the ground plane (Fig. 1), the impedance adjustment portion has a connection end portion (72 Fig. 1 Par. 0021) and a ground end portion (20 Fig. 1 Par. 0016) opposite to each other (Fig. 1), the connection end portion is connected to the radiating portion (Fig.1), the impedance adjustment portion is bent relative to the radiating portion to extend from the connection end portion toward the feeding portion along an extending direction (70 bent relative to 30 and extends from 72 towards 10 Fig. 1), and the ground end portion is connected to the ground plane and near to the feeding portion (20 near 10 Fig. 1),
wherein the ground end portion is closer to the feeding portion than the connection end portion (20 closer to 10 than 72 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 2, Lin teaches wherein the impedance adjustment portion is located between the radiating portion and the ground plane in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 between 30 and 220 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 3, Lin teaches wherein there is a gap between the radiating portion and the impedance adjustment portion (S2 Fig. 1 Par. 0021), and there is another gap between the impedance adjustment portion and the ground plane (gap between 70 and 220 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 4, Lin teaches wherein the ground end portion has two edges perpendicular to each other (bottom horizontal edge of 20 and bottom vertical edge of 20 perpendicular to each other Fig. 1), and the two edges are respectively connected to the ground plane and the feeding portion (bottom horizontal edge of 20 connected to 220, vertical edge of 20 connected to 10 through 70 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 5, Lin teaches wherein the impedance adjustment portion overlaps a low frequency section of the radiating portion in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 overlaps with 31 which operates in low frequency of 1850 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 6, Lin teaches wherein the feeding portion is a radio frequency connector (Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 7, Lin teaches wherein the radio frequency connector does not overlap a high frequency section of the radiating portion in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 does not overlaps with 321 which operates in high frequency of 2600 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 8, Lin teaches wherein in the extending direction, the radio frequency connector is located between the impedance adjustment portion and a high frequency section of the radiating portion (10 located between 70 and 321 which operates in high frequency of 2600 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 9, Lin teaches wherein the ground end portion is adjacent to the feeding portion (20 adjacent to 10 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 10, Lin teaches an electronic device (mobile phone Par. 0014), comprising:
a device body (device body implicit from mobile phone Par. 0014);
and an antenna module (antenna structure 100 Fig. 1 Par. 0015), comprising:
a substrate (circuit board 220 Fig. 1 Par. 0015) disposed on the device body; and
an antenna structure (antenna structure 100 Fig. 1 Par. 0015) disposed on the substrate and comprising a radiating portion (30 Fig. 1 Par. 0016), a feeding portion (10 Fig. 1 Par. 0016), a ground plane (“The circuit board 220 includes a feed point (not shown) and a ground point (not shown)” Par. 0015, “The ground portion 20 is electronically connected to the ground point of the circuit board 220 by metal wires inside the circuit board 220. In this exemplary embodiment, the ground portion 20 is also positioned at a plane parallel to the plane of the circuit board 220” Par. 0017), and an impedance adjustment portion (70 Fig. 1 Par. 0016, 0022),
wherein the feeding portion is coupled to the radiating portion and the ground plane (Fig. 1), the impedance adjustment portion has a connection end portion (72 Fig. 1 Par. 0021) and a ground end portion (20 Fig. 1 Par. 0016) opposite to each other (Fig. 1), the connection end portion is connected to the radiating portion (Fig.1), the impedance adjustment portion is bent relative to the radiating portion to extend from the connection end portion toward the feeding portion along an extending direction (70 bent relative to 30 and extends from 72 towards 10 Fig. 1), and the ground end portion is connected to the ground plane and near the feeding portion (20 near 10 Fig. 1),
wherein the ground end portion is closer to the feeding portion than the connection end portion (20 closer to 10 than 72 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 11, Lin teaches wherein the impedance adjustment portion is located between the radiating portion and the ground plane in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 between 30 and 220 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 12, Lin teaches wherein there is a gap between the radiating portion and the impedance adjustment portion (S2 Fig. 1 Par. 0021), and there is another gap between the impedance adjustment portion and the ground plane (gap between 70 and 220 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 13, Lin teaches wherein the ground end portion has two edges perpendicular to each other (bottom horizontal edge of 20 and bottom vertical edge of 20 perpendicular to each other Fig. 1), and the two edges are respectively connected to the ground plane and the feeding portion (bottom horizontal edge of 20 connected to 220, vertical edge of 20 connected to 10 through 70 Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 14, Lin teaches wherein the impedance adjustment portion overlaps a low frequency section of the radiating portion in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 overlaps with 31 which operates in low frequency of 1850 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 15, Lin teaches wherein the feeding portion is a radio frequency connector (Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 16, Lin teaches wherein the radio frequency connector does not overlap a high frequency section of the radiating portion in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction (70 does not overlaps with 321 which operates in high frequency of 2600 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 17, Lin teaches wherein in the extending direction, the radio frequency connector is located between the impedance adjustment portion and a high frequency section of the radiating portion (10 located between 70 and 321 which operates in high frequency of 2600 MHz Fig. 1 Par. 0022).
Regarding Claim 19, Lin teaches wherein the ground end portion is adjacent to the feeding portion (20 adjacent to 10 Fig. 1).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin US Patent Application Publication 2014/0375522 and Wang et al. US Patent Application Publication 2005/0168384.
Regarding Claim 18, Lin teaches further comprising a cable (“The feed portion 10 is electronically connected to the feed point of the circuit board 220 by metal wires inside the circuit board 220” Par. 0017) and a radio frequency module (“The circuit board 220 includes a feed point (not shown) and a ground point (not shown). The feed point is configured to feed current to the antenna structure 100” Par. 0015; “When a current is input into the feed portion 10 from the circuit board 220, a portion of the current of the feed portion 10 flows through the first radiating body 31 so that the antenna structure 100 can operate at a first frequency band” Par. 0022; therefore an RF module is implicit for operation of the antenna), wherein the radio frequency module is disposed on the device body (implied by being on circuit board 220 Par. 0015), and the cable is connected between the radio frequency connector and the radio frequency module (“The feed portion 10 is electronically connected to the feed point of the circuit board 220 by metal wires inside the circuit board 220” Par. 0017).
Lin is silent on a coaxial cable.
However, Wang et al. teaches a coaxial cable (“a feeding coaxial cable for transmitting signals, the feeding coaxial cable having a central conductor and an outer grounding layer, the central conductor connected to the feeding point of the start terminal of the first radiating arm, the outer grounding layer connected to the ground point” Par. 0008; “The feeding coaxial cable 17 is used for transmitting signals. The feeding coaxial cable 17 has a central conductor 171 and an outer grounding layer 172. The central conductor 171 is connected to the feeding point 142 of the start terminal 144 of the first radiating arm 141. The outer grounding layer 172 is connected to the ground point 133 of the ground plane 13” Par. 0020).
In this particular case, providing a coaxial cable between the between the radio frequency connector and the radio frequency module is common and well known in the art as evident by Wang et al. to supply feed and ground to the antenna through a single cable (Par. 0008, 0020).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the radio frequency connector and the radio frequency module of Lin with a coaxial cable between them based on the teachings of Chen et al. as a result effect in order to simplify the connection and provide feed and ground connections to the antenna through a single cable.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin US Patent Application Publication 2014/0375522 and Chen et al. US Patent Application Publication 2016/0226143.
Regarding Claim 20, Lin teaches the electronic device according to claim 10 as shown in the rejection above.
Lin is silent on wherein the substrate is a portion of a housing of the device body.
However, Chen et al. teaches wherein the substrate is a portion of a housing of the device body (92 Figs. 1, 3 when assembled Par. 0016).
In this particular case, providing the substrate as a portion of the housing of the device body is common and well known in the antenna art as evident by Chen et al. to miniaturize the size of the device while forming the antenna structure as a part of the device housing (Par. 0004, 0018).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the substrate of Lin as a portion of the housing of the device body based on the teachings of Chen et al. as a result effect in order to miniaturize the size of the device while forming the antenna structure as a part of the device housing.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL M BOUIZZA/Examiner, Art Unit 2845