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.
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.
Claims 1-2, 6-8, 10, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. USPN 2025/0046988 in view of Shi et al. USPN 2019/0103656.
Consider claim 1, Zhu discloses an electronic device, comprising: a display mounted within a first area of an enclosure of the electronic device (see fig. 1: electronic device 10 and display 15); an antenna, configured to operate at one or more frequency bands, mounted within a second area of the enclosure that is outside of the first area (see [0107]: “…the side frame 11 of the electronic device may be provided with at least one third slot 103, as shown in FIG. 6(a) and FIG. 6(b). At least a part of the antenna structure 100 may be disposed in the third slot 103. That the antenna structure 100 is disposed in the third slot 103 may be understood as that at least a part of the antenna structure 100 is disposed between conductors on two sides of the slot 103. In an embodiment, the antenna structure 100 is at least partially embedded into the side frame 11…”); and one or more grounds positioned beneath the display and within the first area of the electronic device (see [0062]: “…the “ground” may be a ground plane of a circuit board of an electronic device, or may be a ground metal layer formed by a ground plate formed using a middle frame of the electronic device or a metal thin film below a screen in the electronic device…”),
However, Zhu does not explicitly disclose wherein the one or more grounds are configured to provide grounding for the display and are positioned at or near a distance that is a quarter-wavelength associated with one or more wavelengths of the one or more of the frequency bands of the antenna.
In the related field of endeavor, Shi discloses wherein the one or more grounds are configured to provide grounding for the display and are positioned at or near a distance that is a quarter-wavelength associated with one or more wavelengths of the one or more of the frequency bands of the antenna (see [0026]: “… ground plane slot structure may be a dielectric or a resonator having an approximate electrical length corresponding to a quarter wavelength of an operating frequency of one of the device antennas…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the claimed subject matter to combine the grounding plane of Zhu and the quarter wavelength grounding plane of Shi in order to arrive at claimed recitation to provide electrical isolation and reduce interference.
Consider claim 2 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the one or more frequency bands includes one or more of a 2.4 GHz frequency band and a 5 GHz frequency band, and wherein the distance is within ten percent of three centimeters (see Shi [0069]: “…provide extra isolation for two antennas operating at 2.5 GHz…”).
Consider claim 6 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the enclosure is metal (see [0073]: “…made of a metal material…”).
Consider claim 7 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the antenna is a slot antenna (see well-known in the art…Wu USPN 2025/0385427 “…FIG. 36 shows a schematic diagram of a slot antenna …”).
Consider claim 8 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the one or more grounds comprise one or more of a fabric over foams (FoF), a spring, or a screw (see [0072]: “…middle frame 19 by using a spring or a screw…”).
Examiner Note: See detailed rejection analysis of independent claim 1 for any remaining independent claim rejections.
Consider claim 10, Zhu discloses a system, comprising: an electronic device that includes a metal enclosure (see fig. 1 [0062; 0107]); a display mounted within a first area of the metal enclosure of the electronic device (see fig. 1 [0062; 0107]); a
However, Zhu does not explicitly disclose WIFI and wherein the one or more grounds are configured to provide grounding for the display and are positioned at or near a distance that is a quarter-wavelength associated with one or more wavelengths of the one or more of the frequency bands of the antenna.
In the related field of endeavor, Shi discloses WIFI and wherein the one or more grounds are configured to provide grounding for the display and are positioned at or near a distance that is a quarter-wavelength associated with one or more wavelengths of the one or more of the frequency bands of the antenna (see [0026]: “… ground plane slot structure may be a dielectric or a resonator having an approximate electrical length corresponding to a quarter wavelength of an operating frequency of one of the device antennas…”; [0051]: “…antennas, such as a WIFI or a GPS antenna, may be positioned…”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the claimed subject matter to combine the grounding plane of Zhu and the quarter wavelength grounding plane of Shi in order to arrive at claimed recitation to provide electrical isolation and reduce interference.
Consider claim 14 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the antenna is a slot antenna (see well-known in the art…Wu USPN 2025/0385427 “…FIG. 36 shows a schematic diagram of a slot antenna …”).
Consider claim 15 as applied to respective claim, Zhu as modified discloses the one or more grounds comprise one or more of a fabric over foams (FoF), a spring, or a screw (see [0072]: “…middle frame 19 by using a spring or a screw…”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
Claims 3-5, 9, 11-13, and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: See respective recited limitations.
Conclusion
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Fayyaz Alam
March 7, 2026
/FAYYAZ ALAM/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2674