DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 5, 12-14, 16, 18 and 20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Mikkola” (US 7136019).
Claim 1: Mikkola discloses a portable wireless communication device, comprising:
a display screen (col. 1, second para.: a “mobile phone” inherently has a display screen); and
an antenna system (Fig. 1 reproduced below) comprising at least one antenna having multiple coupled regions, the at least one antenna comprising:
a ground plane GND;
a transceiver (col. 2, ll. 32-34: “transmitter and receiver”);
an inductive component 125 connected to the ground plane;
a first antenna element (105, 110) positioned above the ground plane and (inherently) connected to the transceiver;
a second antenna element B22 positioned above the ground plane and connected to the ground plane, the second antenna element being capacitively coupled to the first antenna element to form a first coupling region A (col. 2, lines 51-67: “electromagnetic coupling”); and
a third antenna element B21 positioned above the ground plane and connected to the inductive component (see Fig. 1), the third antenna element being capacitively coupled to the second antenna element to form a second coupling region B (col. 2, lines 55-67: “electromagnetic coupling”).
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Mikkola fails to expressly teach the inductive component being tunable.
However, Mikkola teaches “The dimensions of the parts of the parasitic element and inductive element 125 are chosen so as to achieve optimal matching for the whole antenna.” (Sentence bridging cols. 2 and 3).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use Mikkola’s inductive component as a tunable component, in order to facilitate optimal matching for the at least one antenna.
Claims 2-3 and 5: Mikkola teaches the portable wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein:
the second antenna element being coupled to the ground plane is adapted to provide a first frequency response at the first coupling region (col. 2, ll. 53-63); and the third antenna element being connected to the tunable component is adapted to provide a second frequency response at the second coupling region (col. 2, ll. 53-63);
wherein the first frequency response is different from the second frequency response (col. 2, ll. 53-63).
wherein the third antenna element is further capacitively coupled to the first antenna element to form a third coupling region C (Fig. 1 reproduced above).
Claims 12-14: Mikkola teaches the portable wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the first antenna element further comprises:
a vertical portion 105 (Fig. 1) extending in a perpendicular direction away from the ground plane to a vertical terminus; and a horizontal portion 110 extending from the vertical terminus of the vertical portion to a horizontal terminus;
wherein at least a portion of the second antenna element is configured to overlap with at least a portion of the horizontal portion of the first antenna element (see Fig. 1);
wherein the first coupling region is formed between the second antenna element and the horizontal portion of the first antenna element (see Fig. 1).
Claim 16: Mikkola teaches the portable wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the first antenna is configured for communication over a first frequency band and the second antenna is configured for communication over a second frequency band that is different from the first frequency band (see Fig. 5 and para. bridging col. 3 and 4).
Claim 18: Mikkola teaches the portable wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless communication device is a laptop computer (col. 1, first para.: “an antenna intended to be used in a small sized and flat radio device”; a skilled artisan would appreciate that “a laptop computer” encompasses a small sized and flat radio device).
Claim 20: Mikkola teaches the portable wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless communication device is a tablet (col. 1, first para.: “an antenna intended to be used in a small sized and flat radio device”; a skilled artisan would appreciate that “a tablet” encompasses a small sized and flat radio device).
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mikkola (cited above) in view of IDS document “Baliarda” (US 7315289).
Claims 7-8: Mikkola is silent regarding a fourth antenna element positioned above the ground plane; wherein the fourth antenna element is connected to the ground plane.
Baliarda discloses a fourth antenna element (in antenna systems 34 and 35, Fig. 7) positioned above the ground plane (shaded plate as depicted); wherein the fourth antenna element is connected to the ground plane (see Fig. 7).
Baliarda teaches “The present inventions relates generally to a new family of characteristic antenna structures of reduced size featuring a broadband behavior, a multiband behavior of a combination of both effects. The antennas according to the present invention include at least two radiating structures or arms, said two arms being coupled through a specific region of one or both of the arms called the proximity region or close proximity region.” (Col. 1, second para.)
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to employ a fourth antenna element positioned above and connected to Mikkola’s ground plane, in order to facilitate broadband behavior and provide resonance in additional frequencies.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6, 9-11, 15, 17 and 19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chi (US 7280074)
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/HASAN ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845