DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/04/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 of this title, 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 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang (US 2021/0013626 A1) in view of Hu (US 2019/0007120 A1)
Regarding claim 16, Jang teaches an electronic device comprising:
a display cover layer (Fig. 5, 174, [0095] a protecting substrate 174);
a display panel (Fig. 5, 132, 120, DA, [0090] DP of the display device 110) mounted to the display cover layer (174) and configured to display images ([0035] display panel DP displaying an image) through the display cover layer (174);
an antenna (Fig. 5, [0090] unit antenna UA) that includes a slot between a lateral edge of the display panel (Fig. 5, NDA area below 174, above UA) and peripheral housing structures (not shown, implicit); and
a coplanar waveguide that overlaps the slot and that is configured to excite a resonant mode of the slot (Fig. 5, UA, [0036] coplanar waveguide (CPW) including the at least one unit antenna UA).
However, Jang does not explicitly teach the peripheral housing structures are peripheral conductive housing structures.
Hu teaches an electronic device comprising peripheral conductive housing structures ([0054]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to apply the peripheral conductive housing structure of Hu to the teachings of Jang as well-known in the art for enhancing the aesthetic properties and mechanical strength of the device (Hu [0054]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15, 19 and 20 are allowed. Specifically, the independent claims 1 and 19 are allowed over the prior arts. The dependent claims 2-15 are allowed due to their dependencies to the said independent claim 1. The dependent claim 20 is allowed due to its dependency to the said independent claim 19.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the prior art Romano (US 2019/0097306 A1) discloses an electronic device comprising:
a display cover layer (Fig. 7, [0068] cover layer 180);
a display panel ([0065] display module 112) mounted to the display cover layer (180) and configured to display images through the display cover layer (Fig. 7, 180, 112);
a conductor ([0080], Figs. 7 and 5, a feed conductor 119) layered onto the display cover layer (Fig. 7, 180); and
an antenna that includes a radiating slot (Fig. 5, slot 142, 144, 145), wherein the first edge (Fig. 5, 130) is defined by the display (Fig. 5, 112, [0047] display module 112) and the second edge (119) is defined by the conductor.
Prior arts do not disclose or fairly suggest, alone or in combination, an electronic device comprising:
a conductive mesh layered onto the display layer; and
a radiating slot with a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge, wherein the first edge is defined by the display and the second edge is defined by the conductor.
Regarding claim 19, the prior art Romano (US 2019/0097306 A1) discloses an electronic device comprising:
a radiating cavity (Fig. 6, [0074] cavity 163) overlapping the radiating slot (144, 145, 142, Fig. 5), wherein the conductive structures in the display and the conductor define at least one edge of the radiating cavity ([0074] cavity 163 defined by structures 116, 114, 12R and 160).
Prior arts do not disclose or fairly suggest, alone or in combination, an electronic device comprising:
a radiating slot having a first edge defined by conductive structures in a display, a second edge opposite the first edge and third and fourth edges that couple the first edge to the second edge, wherein the first, second and third edges are defined by a conductor on a dielectric layer.
Claims 17 and 18 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:
Regarding claim 17, the prior arts fail to teach or reasonably suggest an electronic device comprising: an air loop gasket that couples the conductive housing wall to the display panel, wherein the antenna further includes a cavity overlapping the slot and having edges defined by the air loop gasket, the conductive housing wall, the display panel, and the peripheral conductive housing structures, and the coplanar waveguide is configured to excite a resonant mode of the cavity, in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 17, the prior arts fail to teach or reasonably suggest an electronic device comprising: an air loop gasket that couples the conductive housing wall to the display panel, wherein the antenna further includes a cavity overlapping the slot and having edges defined by the air loop gasket, the conductive housing wall, the display panel, and the peripheral conductive housing structures, and the coplanar waveguide is configured to excite a resonant mode of the cavity, in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Regarding claim 18, the prior arts fail to teach or reasonably suggest an electronic device comprising: an optically transparent mesh of conductors layered onto the display cover layer and defining an edge of the slot, in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEOKJIN KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-1487. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SEOKJIN KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844