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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 2 recites “comprising and a housing...” The word “and” seems to be a typographical error. Claims 2-10 depend, either directly or indirectly, from claim 1 and objected to for at least the same reasons. 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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,807 to Tarulli (i.e., Ref. 1 hereafter) in view of U.S. Patent Appl. Publ. No. 2020/0265538 to Liao (i.e., Ref. 2 hereafter).
Referring to claim 1, Ref. 1 discloses a magnetic positioning structure (Figs. 1 and 2) for an electronic device (i.e., “cell phone B”- Fig, 2), the electronic device comprising and (sic) a housing (not numbered) that is inherently made of metal or non-metal material, the magnetic positioning structure being provided for quickly and temporarily fixing the electronic device onto a plane (“C”) of various materials to avoid affecting a usage due to displacement of the electronic device, and the magnetic positioning structure comprising:
a magnetic positioning plate (1) being a sheet structure (i.e., relative thin) having a fixing surface (Fig. 1, at ref. no. 2) and a mounting surface (Fig. 1, at ref. no. 3), the fixing surface being fixed onto the plane (“C”), and the magnetic positioning plate (1) comprising at least one first magnetic element (e.g., neodynium powder, col. 1, line 53) and an anti-slip sleeve (3), the at least one first magnetic element being enclosed in the anti-slip sleeve (3); and
at least one magnetic conductive element (i.e., battery housing, col. 2, ll. 5-9) arranged on the housing of the expanded device,
wherein during the usage, the at least one magnetic conductive element (i.e., battery housing) is provided for quickly and temporarily fixing the electronic device (B) onto the mounting surface of the magnetic positioning plate (2), and the anti-slip sleeve (3) has an anti-slip effect for preventing the displacement of the expanded device (B). Ref. 1 does not explicitly disclose the electronic device being an expanded device.
Ref. 2, in the same field of invention, discloses as an expanded device or connector converter (Fig. 1) comprising a housing (10) that is inherently made of metal or non-metal material, and being able for quickly and temporarily fixing onto a plane (“C”) of various materials to avoid affecting a usage due to displacement of the expanded device.
All of the component parts are known in the combined references. The only difference is the combination of the "old elements" into a single device. Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of electronic devices, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide a magnetic positioning structure for the expanded device of Ref. 2, since like Ref. 1, it would be beneficial to a user to provide the device of Ref. 2 with the ability to quickly and temporarily fix the expanding device onto a mounting surface when needed.
Referring to claim 2, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the magnetic positioning structure according to claim 1, wherein the anti-slip sleeve is made of one selected from the group of a rubber, a silicone, and a soft plastic, and is formed into a shape corresponding to a shape of the at least one first magnetic element. See Figs. 1 and 2 and the ABSTRACT.
Referring to claim 3, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the magnetic positioning structure according to claim 2, but does not expressly teach wherein the anti-slip sleeve is manufactured by a method selected from the group of an embedded injection molding method, a hybrid injection molding, a bonding method, and an embedding method, and is covered onto an outside of the at least one first magnetic element.
However, it is well settled that the presence of process limitations in product claims, which product does not otherwise distinguish over the prior art, cannot impart patentability to said product. In re Johnson, 157 USPQ 670, 1968).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have utilized any of the claimed processes and/or patterns, in order to meet the standards required for the claimed anti-slip sleeve.
Referring to claim 4, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the magnetic positioning structure according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive plate (i.e., bi-adhesive tape) arranged on the fixing surface, and provided for fixing the magnetic positioning plate onto a non-metal plane.
Referring to claim 5, Ref. 1 in view of Ref. 2 discloses the magnetic positioning structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one magnetic conductive element is one selected from the group of a metal sheet, a second magnetic element, and a combination thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-10 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 6, the specific limitations of “the at least one magnetic conductive element is a sheet structure, and one side of the at least one magnetic conductive element is provided with an adhesive pad for adhesion, in combination with the remaining elements, are not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record. Claims 7-9 depend from claim 6 and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons.
Regarding claim 10, the specific limitations of “the at least one first magnetic element and the second magnetic element with different opposite poles are arranged relative to each other, and the at least one first magnetic element and the second magnetic element are in a geometric shape selected from the group of a round shape, a rectangular shape, and a triangular shape, are not taught or adequately suggested in the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY Q EDWARDS whose telephone number is (571)272-2042. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm.
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/Anthony Q Edwards/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
August 21, 2026
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