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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1, 4-6, 8-9, 12 and 14 in the reply filed on 12/11/1025 is acknowledged.
Claims 2-3, 7, 10-11 and 13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/11/2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The claimed “grooves” in claims 4-5 are called “recesses 221” in par[0050] of the specification. Therefore, the Examiner interprets the claimed “grooves” as recesses.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 8, 9 , 12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zarganis et al. U.S. Patent 7,259,969 (hereinafter D1) in view of Crotty U.S. Patent 8,279,624 (hereinafter D2).
Regarding claim 1, D1 teaches an electronic device comprising:
a housing (74; figure 11);
a circuit board (14; figure 11) disposed inside the housing;
a first electric element (15; figure 11) disposed on the circuit board (14); and
a shielding member (10; figure 11) fixed to the circuit board by an adhesive material (16; see column 14, lines 39-45), the shielding member (10) having a shielding space (space inside 10) formed therein in which the first electric element (15) is disposed,
wherein the shielding member (10) includes a plate (72; figure 11) and a sidewall (sidewall of 10; figure 11) extending from a circumference (see figure 11) of the plate towards the circuit board (14),
wherein the sidewall (sidewall of 10) includes an inside surface (inside surface of 10; figure 11) facing the shielding space, an outside surface (outside surface of 10; figure 11) opposite to the inside surface, and a bottom surface (bottom surface of 10; figure 11) facing the circuit board.
However, D1 does not specifically teach that the sidewall includes at least one protrusion extending toward the circuit board,
wherein the at least one protrusion includes at least one recess formed through the side wall on the bottom surface,
wherein at least part of the adhesive material is received in the at least one recess,
wherein the at least one recess includes a first recess, and wherein a width of the first recess is decreased toward the circuit board.
D2, teaches a similar structure, which suggests a sidewall (100; figure 1) including at least one protrusion (108; figure 1) extending toward the circuit board (104; figure 1),
wherein the at least one protrusion (108) includes at least one recess (space between 108) formed through the side wall (106) on the bottom surface,
wherein the at least one recess includes a first recess (space between 128; figure 2), and wherein a width (width formed by left and right 128) of the first recess is decreased toward the circuit board.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the sidewall of D1, such that it would include at least one protrusion extending toward the circuit board, wherein the at least one protrusion includes at least one recess formed through the side wall on the bottom surface, wherein the at least one recess includes a first recess, and wherein a width of the first recess is decreased toward the circuit board, as suggested by D2, to ensure good/close contact or co-planarity between the shield and the PCB (see column 7, lines 50-59 of D2).
D2, also suggests adhesive material (see column 8, lines 30-33) can be used for attaching parts to the shield (100).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further provide adhesive in the at least one recess of D1/D2, as suggested by D2, to further strengthen the coupling between said side wall of the shield and the circuit board.
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Regarding claim 4, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the electronic device of claim 1.
D2 further teaches the sidewall includes a plurality of protrusions (108; see above annotated figure 1) extending toward the circuit board and a plurality of grooves (spaces between 108; figure 1) formed between the plurality of protrusions, and wherein the plurality of protrusions comprises (see above annotated figure 1 of D2) the at least one protrusion.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further provide the electronic device of D1 with a plurality of protrusions extending toward the circuit board and a plurality of grooves formed between the plurality of protrusions, and wherein the plurality of protrusions comprises the at least one protrusion, as also suggested by D2, to further strengthen the coupling between said sidewall and said circuit board.
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 is rejected for the same reasons stated in the above rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, D1/D2 teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sidewall (side wall of 10; figure 11 of D1) is extended substantially perpendicular (see figure 11 of D1) to the plate.
Regarding claim 9, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the electronic device of claim 4, wherein the plurality of protrusions (108; figure 1 of D2) are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval (see figure 1 of D2) along a circumferential direction (self-explanatory in figure 11 of D1 and figure 1 of D2) of the plate.
Regarding claim 12, D1/D2 teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the adhesive material is conductive (see column 4, lines 6-9 of D1; “conductive adhesive”).
Regarding claim 14, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the electronic device of claim 13.
However, D1/D2 does not specifically teach the shielding member contains a metallic material.
D1, discloses the shielding member (10; figure 1 of D1) contains a metallic material (“metal layers 13”; see column 8, lines 30-37).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further provide the shielding member of D1/D2 with a metallic material/layer, as also suggested by D1, to provide EMI shielding.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zarganis et al. U.S. Patent 7,259,969 (hereinafter D1) in view of Crotty U.S. Patent 8,279,624 (hereinafter D2) and in further view of Seidler U.S. Pub. 2003/0136812 (hereinafter D3).
Regarding claim 6, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the electronic device of claim 4.
However, D1/D2 does not specifically teach that at least part of the adhesive covers at least part of the outside surface and at least part of the inside surface.
D3, suggests the use of an solder material (70; figure 9) for holding and covering at least part of the outside surface and at least part of the inside surface (see figure 9) of a sidewall (30; figure 9) to a substrate (100; figure 9).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further provide at least part of the solder covers at least part of the outside surface and at least part of the inside surface of D1/D2, as suggested by D3 to further secure said shielding member to said circuit board.
D1, further suggests solder and conductive adhesive (see column 4, lines 6-9) maybe used/substituted with each other for fixedly couple a clip to a circuit board (see column 4, lines 6-9).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further substitute the solder of D1/D2/D3 with an adhesive, as suggested by D1, such that at least part of the adhesive would cover at least part of the outside surface and at least part of the inside surface, to achieve the advantage of bonding dissimilar and heat-sensitive materials together.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG Q DANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3069. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6PM..
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HUNG Q. DANG
Examiner
Art Unit 2835
/ROCKSHANA D CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841