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, 4-5, 9-11, 13-17 and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (Patent No: KR20210023050A), hereinafter, LEE in view of LUO et al. (Patent No: CN115498394A), hereinafter, LUO.
Regarding Claim 1, LEE teaches,
An electronic device comprising: at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; at least one grip sensor operatively connected to at least one processor, at least one radio frequency, RF, circuit operatively connected to the at least one processor; -Paragraph [0017, 0033-0034] ([0017] recites,” “Referring to FIG. 1, in a network environment (100), an electronic device (101) may communicate with an electronic device (102) through a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network)…. According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), … a sensor module (176),…… a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197). “ [0034] recites, “the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas. In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas, for example, by a communication module (190). A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device via at least one antenna selected above. In some embodiments, other components (e.g., RFIC) in addition to the radiator may be formed as part of the antenna module (197).”The sensor module (176) can be a grip sensor. All the modules are connected to the processor.)
perform at least one operation for power backoff for the at least one RF circuit -Paragraph [0064, 0068, 0083, 0132] ( The mentioned paragraphs recite, “The electronic device (101) can control a communication circuit (e.g., a communication
module (190) of FIG. 1) to output a first millimeter wave signal (e.g., a signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) at a first intensity…… According to various embodiments, the electronic device (101) may, at operation 390, output a second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2B) at the determined second intensity…… According to various embodiments, the electronic device (101) may, in response to receiving the electrical signal described above from the grip sensor, execute (e.g., activate) the SAR backoff function…..The SAR backoff function may mean a function of adjusting (or reducing) the output intensity of at least one of the second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) or at least one wireless communication signal so that the sum of the SAR values generated by at least one of the second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) or at least one wireless communication signal is less than or equal to a SAR limit value defined in the SAR standard…” Note that the signal received through RF module and it means that the electronic device is in use)
and deactivate the at least one operation for the power backoff when the error is identified but the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is not identified. -Paragraph [0137] ([0137] recites, “the electronic device (101) may deactivate the SAR backoff function and no longer output the first and second millimeter wave signals (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) when it determines that a running application (e.g., the running application of FIG. 8) has been terminated (e.g., use of a wireless communication method being used through the running application has been terminated), an electrical signal having an intensity greater than a preset value is no longer received from a grip sensor (e.g., sensor module (176) of FIG. 1), or a display (e.g., display device (160) of FIG. 1) has been switched from an on state to an off state.” As explained above, SAR backoff function can be deactivated based on the information from a sensor e.g., display and when there is no need for backoff. i.e., requirement is met (satisfied). Here Display device is used for an illustration purpose only. SAR backoff is applicable only when RF module is active, i.e., when the RF module is transmitting/receiving and that is what the device is in use means (i.e., the communicating device communicating with other communicating device). For example, when display is ON and the RF communication module is idle (not transmitting/receiving any RF signal, e.g., airplane mode) the device is not considered as in the state of being use. Therefore, regardless of whether the Display is in ON/OFF state, if the RF module is not transmitting/receiving RF signal, the device is not in use state. SAR backoff does not even matter in that case and it is easily understandable that SAR backoff function is deactivated in that case, in fact it does not matter as it is not transmitting RF signal )
Although implicit, LEE does not explicitly mention,
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified;
However, in an analogous invention LUO teaches,
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified; -Paragraph [0050], Claim 1 ([0050] recites, “when some or all of the plurality of sensing elements are antenna radiators, the processor 2 can determine that a sensing element failure has occurred when it detects that the reporting frequency of the proximity sensing data exceeds a preset frequency.” Claim 1 recites, “Multiple sensing elements are disposed at different locations in the electronic device, and each sensing element is correspondingly disposed with at least one antenna radiator; The sensing controller is connected to the plurality of sensing elements through multiple detection channels, and each detection channel is connected to at least one sensing element. The processor is configured to, when the proximity sensing module malfunctions, determine the target antenna radiator affected by the malfunction and control the reduction of the operating power of the target antenna radiator to a target operating power.” When the RF module within the device is active, i.e., transmit/receive RF signal (radiate power) the device is considered to be in use state. If RF module is idle (i.e., not transmitting/receiving RF signal), it is considered not being used irrespective of whether Display or some other component which does not transmit is ON/OFF)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified;” of LUO. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively reducing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), thus meeting safety requirements and reducing radiation damage to the human body [0065].
Regarding Claim 4, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of antennas connected to the at least one RF circuit, -Paragraph [0034] ([0034] recites, “In one embodiment, the antenna module may include an antenna comprising a radiator formed of a conductor or conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). According to one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas. In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a
communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas, for example, by a communication module (190).
A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device via at least one antenna selected above.
In some embodiments, other components (e.g., RFIC) in addition to the radiator may be
formed as part of the antenna module (197).”)
wherein the at least one additional condition comprises transmission antennas selected from the plurality of antennas being equal to at least some of at least one antenna connected to the at least one grip sensor among the plurality of antennas -Paragraph [0074, 0083] ([0074] recites, “For example, if the sensor is a grip sensor, acquisition of data exceeding a threshold value may mean that an electrical signal having a strength exceeding a preset value generated according to pressure applied to the housing of the electronic device (101) by a user (e.g., a hand) is received from the grip sensor to a processor (e.g., processor (120) of FIG. 1).” [0083] recites,” the electronic device (101) may, in response to receiving the electrical signal described above from the grip sensor, execute (e.g., activate) the SAR backoff function without outputting the first millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG.2B ).”)
Regarding Claim 5, LEE and LUO combination teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:
a plurality of antennas connected to the at least one RF circuit, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises distances between transmission antennas selected from the plurality of antennas and at least some of at least one antenna connected to the at least one grip sensor among the plurality of antennas being within a threshold distance, -Paragraph [0014, 0056, 0165] ([0165] recites, “the electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (101) of FIG. 1) further includes a proximity sensor (e.g., the sensor module (176) of FIG. 1) operatively connected to at least one processor (e.g., the processor (120) of FIG. 1), and the at least one processor (e.g., the processor (120) of FIG. 1) may be configured to determine a second distance based on proximity data obtained from the proximity sensor (e.g., the sensor module (176) of FIG. 1) and a first reflection signal.” [0014] recites, “An electronic device according to various embodiments may dynamically apply a SAR backoff function according to priority for each communication method. In this case, the millimeter wave signal for detecting the proximity of the user may also be considered when applying the SAR backoff function to comply with the SAR standard.”)
Regarding Claim 9, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises a display included in the electronic device is-being turned on -Paragraph [0017] ([0017] recites, “According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input device (150), an audio output device (155), a display device (160)….” The display device can be turned ON whenever required.)
Regarding Claim 10, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device further comprises a motion sensor, and wherein the at least one additional condition comprises detection of motion sensed through the motion sensor. -Paragraph [0017] ([0017] recites, “According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input device (150), an audio output device (155), a display device (160), an audio module (170), a sensor module (176)…” As explained above the electronic device may contain sensor module and it can be any kind of sensor including motion sensor which detects motion)
Claim 11 is very similar to Claim 10 the only difference is touch sensor instead of motion sensor. Claim 11 is rejected for the same reason above as in Claim 10.
Regarding Claim 13, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of claim 1.
LEE does not explicitly teach,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on failure of communication between at least one processor and the at least one grip sensor.
However, LUO teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on failure of communication between at least one processor and the at least one grip sensor.-Paragraph [0027] ([0027] recites, “the sensing controller 12 is further configured to periodically report status information to the processor 2 at each reporting time point according to a preset reporting period, and the processor 2 determines that a sensing controller failure has occurred when it fails to receive the reported status information at least once at a reporting time point. Specifically, the processor 2 can periodically receive the status information reported by the sensor controller at each reporting time point according to a preset reporting cycle; if the processor does not receive the reported status information at least once at a reporting time point, it determines that a sensor controller failure has occurred.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on failure of communication between at least one processor and the at least one grip sensor.” of LUO. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively reducing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), thus meeting safety requirements and reducing radiation damage to the human body [0065].
Regarding Claim 14, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of claim 1.
LEE does not explicitly teach,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on mismatch between a sensing result by the at least one grip sensor and an event generation result indicating whether sensing is performed.
However, LUO teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on mismatch between a sensing result by the at least one grip sensor and an event generation result indicating whether sensing is performed.-Paragraph [0032] ([0032] recites, “The status information includes multiple channel information corresponding to multiple detection channels 121 respectively. Each channel information includes the identity information of the corresponding detection channel 121 and information indicating whether the corresponding detection channel 121 is normal. When the processor 2 receives the status information at the reporting time point, and at least one channel information in the status information indicates that at least one corresponding detection channel 121 is abnormal, it determines that a detection channel failure has occurred and determines that the at least one abnormal detection channel 121 is the detection channel 121 that has failed.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on mismatch between a sensing result by the at least one grip sensor and an event generation result indicating whether sensing is performed.” of LUO. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively reducing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), thus meeting safety requirements and reducing radiation damage to the human body [0065].
Regarding Claim 15, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of claim 1.
LEE does not explicitly teach,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on provision of power to the at least one grip sensor.
However, LUO teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on provision of power to the at least one grip sensor. -Paragraph [0004] ([0004] recites, “The processor is configured to, when the proximity sensing module malfunctions, determine
the target antenna radiator affected by the malfunction and control the reduction of the
operating power of the target antenna radiator to a target operating power.” Sensor can be grip sensor.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “the error is identified based on provision of power to the at least one grip sensor.
” of LUO. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively reducing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), thus meeting safety requirements and reducing radiation damage to the human body [0065].
Regarding Claim 16, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the error is identified based on allocation of firm ware to the at least one grip sensor. -Paragraph [0074] ([0074] recites, “the sensor is a grip sensor, acquisition of data exceeding a threshold value may mean that an electrical signal having a strength exceeding a preset value generated according to pressure applied to the housing of the electronic device (101) by a user (e.g., a hand) is received from the grip sensor to a processor (e.g., processor (120) of FIG. 1).” Firmware can be the processor)
Claim 17 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 1. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1 above which is rejected. Claim 17 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Claim 20 is essentially the same apparatus claim 1 except a generic error related to a hardware instead of grip sensor as in claim 1. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1 above which is rejected. Claim 20 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Regarding Claim 21, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE further teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified comprises one or more of a display being on, a touch sensor detecting touch of a user, and acceleration of the electronic device. -Paragraph [0017] ([0017] recites, “According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) can communicate with the
electronic device (104) via the server (108). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input device (150), an audio output device (155), a display device (160), an audio module (170), a sensor module (176), an interface (177), a haptic module (179), a camera module (180), a power management module (188), a battery (189), a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197).” As described above the electronic device may include display, sensors (can be touch sensor), and the most important part is the communication and antenna module with which it communicates with other device and the idea to control power through transmission power backoff arises. It is easily understandable to an ordinary person with the skill in the art that display is generally ON first before starting any activity such as transmission. However, only when the RF module is active, i.e., communicating (transmitting/receiving wireless signal) with another electronic device, it is considered as in use mode. Display, touch sensor etc. can be ON/OFF irrespective of state of RF module (active or idle) which does not radiate power.)
Claim 22 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 17. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 17 above which is rejected. Claim 22 is rejected under the same rational as claim 17.
Claims 2-3, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of LUO and further in view of HAIM et al. (Patent No: US 2012/0178494 A1), hereinafter HAIM.
Regarding Claim 2, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, LEE does not explicitly mention,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the electronic device to identify satisfaction of at least one additional condition, the at least one additional condition being in addition to the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use; perform, the at least one operation for the power backoff, based on the identification of the satisfaction of at least one additional condition.
However, in an analogous invention HAIM teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the electronic device to identify satisfaction of at least one additional condition, the at least one additional condition being in addition to the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use; perform, the at least one operation for the power backoff, based on the identification of the satisfaction of at least one additional condition.-Paragraph [0068-0072] ([0068-0072] recites, “It is contemplated that additional power backoff to P.sub.CMAX,c may be implemented, for example, to ensure that Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) thresholds or requirements may be met and that transmission thresholds or requirements related to the WTRU 102 simultaneously operating on LTE and other air interfaces, such as 1 xRTT and/or 1xEV-DO, among others, may also be met…. It is contemplated to implement additional power backoff (e.g., due to SAR, 1X (for example 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO) and/or other technologies, among others). Applying, and then sometime later removing, the additional backoff may result in the value of P.sub.CMAX,c changing from time-to-time. It is contemplated to include a new PHR trigger that is based on a change in P.sub.CMAX,c to inform the eNB 140 when the additional backoff changes…..In certain representative embodiments, representative methods and representative procedures may be implemented for handling backoff due to SAR, multi-RAT transmission including 1X (for example 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO) transmission, and/or other reasons not addressed (or impacted) by MPR, A-MPR, and .DELTA.Tc. The backoff may sometimes be referred to herein as non-MPR backoff, power management based backoff, power management backoff, power backoff due to power management, power management power reduction (P-MPR or PMPR), P-MPR backoff, additional power backoff, or additional backoff.” As explained above the SAR backoff being calculated for multi-RAT transmission, i.e., electronic device is in use condition and transmitting through RF module (antenna).)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “instructions cause the electronic device to identify satisfaction of at least one additional condition, the at least one additional condition being in addition to the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use; perform, the at least one operation for the power backoff, based on the identification of the satisfaction of at least one additional condition” of HAIM. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order for WTRU to be able to rapid changes to backoff [Abstract].
Regarding Claim 3, LEE and LUO teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Although implicit, LEE does not explicitly mention,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises, a current operation band of the electronic device is being a band requiring power backoff
However, in an analogous invention HAIM teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises, a current operation band of the electronic device is being a band requiring power backoff-Paragraph [0073, 0077, 0536, 0472-0473] ([0073] recites, “For the case of inter-band carrier aggregation, one or more of the MPR, A-MPR, .DELTA.Tc, and/or additional power backoff may be different for each band (e.g., per frequency band), which may result in reducing or limiting transmit power per band (e.g., the limits or reductions may be different for each frequency band). It is contemplated to have representative methods and representative apparatus for handling maximum power limits per frequency band when a WTRU 102 may be operating in more than one frequency band.”[0536] recites, “The WTRU 102 may calculate the backoff value using one of: a first procedure for an inter-band uplink (UL) transmission or a second procedure for an intra-band UL transmission. For example, the procedures for calculating backoff for inter-band UL transmission by the WTRU 102 may be different from procedures for calculating backoff for intra-band UL transmission.” [0472-0473] recites,” The WTRU 102 may include the P.sub.CMAX in the PHR, which may be in the Extended PHR MAC CE, based on one or more of the following criteria being met (or satisfied). A first criteria may include a configuration criteria, which may be satisfied if the WTRU 102 is configured for inter-band UL (e.g., the WTRU 102 is configured with at least one UL CC in each of at least two bands, for example 800 MHz band and 2.1 GHz band).”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “a current operation band of the electronic device is being a band requiring power backoff” of HAIM. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order for WTRU to be able to rapid changes to backoff [Abstract].
Claim 18 is the method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 2. The Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 2 above which is rejected. Claim 18 is rejected under the same rational as claim 2.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of LUO and further in view of CHA et al. (Patent No: KR20210020462A), hereinafter CHA.
Regarding Claim 6, LEE and LUO combination teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE does not explicitly mention,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the electronic device to: identify, generated RF exposure accumulated for a first time period; identify remaining RF exposure margin for the first time period, based on the accumulated generated RF exposure; and wherein the at least one additional condition comprises RF exposure expected based on the power backoff not being performed is-being larger than the RF exposure margin.
However, in an analogous invention CHA teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the electronic device to: identify, generated RF exposure accumulated for a first time period; identify remaining RF exposure margin for the first time period, based on the accumulated generated RF exposure; -Paragraph [0057] ([0057] recites, “determine the transmission strength of a communication signal scheduled to be transmitted at the current point in time based on the first SAR accumulation value and the second SAR accumulation value. 405 In operation, the electronic device (101) can transmit a communication signal with the determined transmission strength of the communication signal.”)
and wherein the at least one additional condition comprises RF exposure expected based on the power backoff not being performed is-being larger than the RF exposure margin. -Paragraph [0057] ([0057] recites, “For example, the electronic device (101) can predict the SAR cumulative value for a specified time period (e.g., 50 seconds) at least one future point in time based on the SAR cumulative value…. if the expected (minimum) SAR accumulation value at least one future point in time exceeds a threshold accumulation value, the electronic device(101) may determine the transmission strength of the communication signal to be transmitted at the current point in time as the backed-off transmission strength. If the expected (minimum) SAR accumulation value at least at one future point in time is less than or equal to the threshold accumulation value, the electronic device (101) can determine the transmission strength of the communication signal to be transmitted at the current point in time as the normal transmission strength.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the electronic device to: identify, generated RF exposure accumulated for a first time period; identify remaining RF exposure margin for the first time period, based on the accumulated generated RF exposure; and wherein the at least one additional condition comprises RF exposure expected based on the power backoff not being performed is-being larger than the RF exposure margin.” of CHA. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the quality or speed of communication with the second network [0042].
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE in view of LUO and further in view of LIN et al. (Patent No: CN115720100A), hereinafter LIN.
Regarding Claim 7, LEE and LUO combination teach the limitations of Claim 1.
LEE does not explicitly teach,
The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:
a plurality of antennas connected to the at least one RF circuit, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises an antenna tuning mode for transmission antennas selected from the plurality of antennas is being a grip mode.
However, in an analogous invention LIN teaches,
The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:
a plurality of antennas connected to the at least one RF circuit, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises an antenna tuning mode for transmission antennas selected from the plurality of antennas is being a grip mode. -Paragraph [0087, 0106, 0111] ([0087] recites, “the terminal device's settings options include an antenna mode settings interface, i.e., a mode selection interface, which contains selection buttons for "Performance Mode" and "Health Mode"….users can select "Health Mode" as the antenna mode for the application. However, in another instance, users can also select "Performance Mode" as the application's antenna mode.”
[0106] recites, “It is easy to see that "performance" corresponds to the first fallback method mentioned above, and "energy saving" corresponds to the second fallback method mentioned above. As shown in Figure 6, users can select "performance" as the antenna fallback method. However, in another instance, users can also choose the "energy-saving" antenna fallback mode.” [0111] recites, “For example, in locations with good communication capabilities, energy-saving modes can be selected to reduce the impact on human health. In locations with weak communication capabilities, a performance mode can be selected to improve communication performance.” As explained above, energy saving mode can be used in antenna fallback (backoff) mode based on the SAR criteria (impact on human health))
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “a plurality of antennas connected to the at least one RF circuit, wherein the at least one additional condition comprises an antenna tuning mode for transmission antennas selected from the plurality of antennas is being a grip mode” of LIN. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the communication performance of the antennas [0037].
Response to Argument(s)
Applicant's argument(s) filed on May 16, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, the Examiner regretfully maintains the rejection.
The Applicant’s amendment to the claims have been fully considered and addressed in this OA.
The Applicant argues,
As evident from Lee [0137], for example, Lee discloses that the SAR backoff function is deactivated when (1) no grip is detected, or (2) the display is turned off. However, Lee does not disclose the situation in which power backoff is performed when two conditions are both satisfied, namely (1) when the sensor has failed and (2) when the display is turned on. (Page 12)
Lou only discloses that backoff is performed during the entire time period when a sensor failure occurs and does not disclose activating or deactivating backoff depending on whether both a "failure" condition and an "additional condition" are satisfied or not satisfied.
Thus, neither Lee nor Lou teach or suggest the limitations of (1) performing at least one operation for power backoff to the at least one RF circuit when the error is identified and the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified; and (2) deactivate the at least one operation for the backoff when the error is identified but the condition indicating that the device is in use is not identified. (Page 13)
The Examiner’s response is the following:
The Examiner considered all the amendments made in the independent and dependent claims and addressed each and every limitation individually from the quotation of the prior-art and enough explanation for justification. The examiner has different opinion on the definition of device in use in the context of the invention that is transmission power backoff.
SAR backoff is applicable only when RF module is active, i.e., when the RF module is transmitting/receiving and that is what the device is in use means (i.e., the communicating device communicating with other communicating device). For example, when display is ON and the RF communication module is idle (not transmitting/receiving any RF signal, e.g., airplane mode) the device is not considered as in the state of being use. Therefore, regardless of whether the Display is in ON/OFF state, if the RF module is not transmitting/receiving RF signal, the device is not in use state. SAR backoff does not even matter in that case and it is easily understandable that SAR backoff function is deactivated in that case, in fact it does not matter as it is not transmitting RF signal)
Therefore, the Examiner retains the rejection status.
Similarly, the dependents claims are also maintained in rejection state.
Please see the complete mapping of Claim 1 above. Pasted here for convenience.
LEE teaches,
An electronic device comprising: at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; at least one grip sensor operatively connected to at least one processor, at least one radio frequency, RF, circuit operatively connected to the at least one processor; -Paragraph [0017, 0033-0034] ([0017] recites,” “Referring to FIG. 1, in a network environment (100), an electronic device (101) may communicate with an electronic device (102) through a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network)…. According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), … a sensor module (176),…… a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197). “ [0034] recites, “the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas. In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas, for example, by a communication module (190). A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device via at least one antenna selected above. In some embodiments, other components (e.g., RFIC) in addition to the radiator may be formed as part of the antenna module (197).”The sensor module (176) can be a grip sensor. All the modules are connected to the processor.)
perform at least one operation for power backoff for the at least one RF circuit -Paragraph [0064, 0068, 0083, 0132] ( The mentioned paragraphs recite, “The electronic device (101) can control a communication circuit (e.g., a communication
module (190) of FIG. 1) to output a first millimeter wave signal (e.g., a signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) at a first intensity…… According to various embodiments, the electronic device (101) may, at operation 390, output a second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2B) at the determined second intensity…… According to various embodiments, the electronic device (101) may, in response to receiving the electrical signal described above from the grip sensor, execute (e.g., activate) the SAR backoff function…..The SAR backoff function may mean a function of adjusting (or reducing) the output intensity of at least one of the second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) or at least one wireless communication signal so that the sum of the SAR values generated by at least one of the second millimeter wave signal (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) or at least one wireless communication signal is less than or equal to a SAR limit value defined in the SAR standard…” Note that the signal received through RF module and it means that the electronic device is in use)
and deactivate the at least one operation for the power backoff when the error is identified but the condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is not identified. -Paragraph [0137] ([0137] recites, “the electronic device (101) may deactivate the SAR backoff function and no longer output the first and second millimeter wave signals (e.g., signal (213a) of FIG. 2b) when it determines that a running application (e.g., the running application of FIG. 8) has been terminated (e.g., use of a wireless communication method being used through the running application has been terminated), an electrical signal having an intensity greater than a preset value is no longer received from a grip sensor (e.g., sensor module (176) of FIG. 1), or a display (e.g., display device (160) of FIG. 1) has been switched from an on state to an off state.” As explained above, SAR backoff function can be deactivated based on the information from a sensor e.g., display and when there is no need for backoff. i.e., requirement is met (satisfied). Here Display device is used for an illustration purpose only. SAR backoff is applicable only when RF module is active, i.e., when the RF module is transmitting/receiving and that is what the device is in use means (i.e., the communicating device communicating with other communicating device). For example, when display is ON and the RF communication module is idle (not transmitting/receiving any RF signal, e.g., airplane mode) the device is not considered as in the state of being use. Therefore, regardless of whether the Display is in ON/OFF state, if the RF module is not transmitting/receiving RF signal, the device is not in use state. SAR backoff does not even matter in that case and it is easily understandable that SAR backoff function is deactivated in that case, in fact it does not matter as it is not transmitting RF signal )
Although implicit, LEE does not explicitly mention,
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified;
However, in an analogous invention LUO teaches,
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified; -Paragraph [0050], Claim 1 ([0050] recites, “when some or all of the plurality of sensing elements are antenna radiators, the processor 2 can determine that a sensing element failure has occurred when it detects that the reporting frequency of the proximity sensing data exceeds a preset frequency.” Claim 1 recites, “Multiple sensing elements are disposed at different locations in the electronic device, and each sensing element is correspondingly disposed with at least one antenna radiator; The sensing controller is connected to the plurality of sensing elements through multiple detection channels, and each detection channel is connected to at least one sensing element. The processor is configured to, when the proximity sensing module malfunctions, determine the target antenna radiator affected by the malfunction and control the reduction of the operating power of the target antenna radiator to a target operating power.” When the RF module within the device is active, i.e., transmit/receive RF signal (radiate power) the device is considered to be in use state. If RF module is idle (i.e., not transmitting/receiving RF signal), it is considered not being used irrespective of whether Display or some other component which does not transmit is ON/OFF)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADJUSTING OUTPUT POWER OF SIGNAL BY USING MILLIMETER WAVE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF “ proposed by LEE to include the concept of “memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: identify an error related to the at least one grip sensor; and determine whether or not a condition indicating that the electronic device is in use is identified;” of LUO. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively reducing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), thus meeting safety requirements and reducing radiation damage to the human body [0065].
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.
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/AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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