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 .
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and prosecuted.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, KR 20150114182, in further view of Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, and in further view of Park et al., US Patent Publication 2018/0301792, henceforth known as Park ‘792.
Regarding Claim 1, Park discloses an electronic device (Abstract; an electronic device), comprising:
a housing including a front plate (Figure 5 and 6; pages 4 and 5; a cover glass of an electronic device); and
wherein at least a portion of the housing includes a ink pattern layer containing a metal component (Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; a metal thin film pattern 210 is included on the cover glass), and
wherein in the ink pattern layer, adjacent pattern elements forming a pattern of the ink pattern layer are electrically insulated from each other (Figure 5, 6, and 8; the metal thing film pattern is has a plurality of pattern elements forming the pattern, and are electrically insulated from each other because of the insulating part 230).
However, Park does not disclose a housing including a front plate, a rear plate facing the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the rear plate; and
an antenna,
the ink pattern layer in a mirror ink pattern layer, and
wherein at least a portion of the housing includes a mirror ink pattern layer containing a powder of a metal component.
Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, discloses the use of a metal material constituting metal powder to provide an glossy appearance such as that a mirror surface has a shiny appearance ([0154]; [0159];).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the disclosure of Park to further include the teachings of Ogawa in order to provide the ink pattern layer in a mirror ink pattern layer, and wherein at least a portion of the housing includes a mirror ink pattern layer containing a powder of a metal component. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Ogawa teaches the use of a metal powder as a metal powder to provide a glossy appearance such as that as of a mirror surface having a shiny appearance (Ogawa: [0154];).
However, the combination of Park and Ogawa doesn’t explicitly disclose a housing including a front plate, a rear plate facing the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the rear plate; and
an antenna.
Park et al., US Patent Publication 2018/0301792, discloses an electronic device 100 may be surrounded by a housing. The housing of the electronic device 100 may include a front plate, a rear plate that is opposite to the front plate, and a side surface that surrounds a space between the front plate and the rear plate. The front plate and the rear plate may include a conductive material. The electronic device is provided in which a metal oxide area is formed in a metal housing when an antenna, which is accommodated by the housing and is configured to transmit and receive signals of a frequency band, using the metal housing is formed (Abstract; Figure 1; [0008]; [0035];).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combinational disclosure of Park and Ogawa to further include the teachings of Park ‘792 in order to provide a housing including a front plate, a rear plate facing the front plate, and a side member surrounding a space between the front plate and the rear plate; and an antenna. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Park ‘792 teaches housing of an electronic device and how an antenna of said electronic device can utilize the housing (Park ‘792: Abstract; Figure 1; [0008]; [0035];).
Regarding Claim 2, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes a multi-layer pattern structure (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; a metal thin film pattern 210 includes a “multi-layer pattern structure” as seen in Figure 6).
Regarding Claim 3, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein in the mirror ink pattern layer, each of the adjacent pattern elements forming the pattern is provided in an island shape or a line shape (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210 includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6).
Regarding Claim 4, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes island-shaped pattern elements, and the mirror ink pattern layer has a multi-layer pattern structure including at least three layers (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210 includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in the figures, there is at least three layers, a the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 ).
Regarding Claim 12, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the housing further includes an optical pattern layer, and wherein the mirror ink pattern layer is provided on a rear surface of the optical pattern layer component (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; a print layer 300, where the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, are provided on the “rear surface” of the print layer 300)
Regarding Claim 13, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the housing further includes a second mirror ink pattern layer (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 are sequentially stacked)
Regarding Claim 14, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the housing further includes a color shielding printed layer (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the print layer 300 is considered as a “color shielding” printed layer)
Regarding Claim 15, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 teaches wherein the antenna includes an antenna disposed in the housing and an antenna capable of performing a communication with an outside using at least the portion of the housing (Park ‘792: Abstract; Figure 1; [0008]; [0035]; The electronic device is provided in which a metal oxide area is formed in a metal housing when an antenna, which is accommodated by the housing and is configured to transmit and receive signals of a frequency band, using the metal housing).
Claim 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, KR 20150114182, in further view of Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, and in further view of Park et al., US Patent Publication 2018/0301792, henceforth known as Park ‘792, in further view of Park, US Patent Publication 2017/0075386, henceforth known as Park ‘386.
Regarding Claim 8, The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 doesn’t explicitly teaches wherein the mirror ink pattern layer has a multi-layer pattern structure including at least two layers (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210 includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in the figures, there is at least three layers, a the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 ).
The combination of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 doesn’t explicitly teach wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes line-shaped pattern elements, and the mirror ink pattern layer has a multi-layer pattern structure including at least two layers.
However, Park, US Patent Publication 2017/0075386, teaches that while a metallic thin film figure 203 can be formed in a quadrangular shape, it may also be formed in a hairline shapes (line-shaped pattern elements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combinational disclosure of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 to further include the teachings of Park ‘386 in order to provide wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes line-shaped pattern elements. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Park ‘386 teaches that the metallic thin film figure may also be a hairline shape (line-shaped pattern elements).
Regarding Claim 9, The combination of Park, Ogawa, Park ‘792, and Park ‘386 teaches wherein the multi-layer pattern structure including the at least two layers includes a first mirror ink layer, a first transparent insulation ink layer, and a second mirror ink layer, which are sequentially stacked, and wherein each of the first mirror ink layer and the second mirror ink layer contains a powder of a metal component (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; Ogawa: [0154]; [0159]; the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 are sequentially stacked, and the metal thin film pattern 210 and the second metal thin film pattern 520 contains a powder of a metal component).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, WO 2015/152632, henceforth known as Park ‘632, in further view of Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, and in further view of Park, KR 20150114182, in further view of
Regarding Claim 16, Park ‘632 discloses an accessory cover of an electronic device detachable from a housing of the electronic device (Abstract; a rear case for an electronic device), comprising:
a ink pattern layer formed such that adjacent pattern elements forming a pattern of the mirror ink pattern layer are electrically insulated from each other (Figure 1; pages 4-6; a metal decoration 200 formed on a transparent substrate 100 comprising of metal thin film figure 203 that are each separated from each other) ).
However, Park ‘632 does not disclose the ink pattern layer is a mirror ink pattern layer and
a mirror ink pattern layer having at least a portion containing a powder of a metal component.
Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, discloses the use of a metal material constituting metal powder to provide an glossy appearance such as that a mirror surface has a shiny appearance ([0154]; [0159];).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the disclosure of Park ‘632 to further include the teachings of Ogawa in order to provide the ink pattern layer is a mirror ink pattern layer and a mirror ink pattern layer having at least a portion containing a powder of a metal component. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Ogawa teaches the use of a metal powder as a metal powder to provide a glossy appearance such as that as of a mirror surface having a shiny appearance (Ogawa: [0154];).
Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, WO 2015/152632, henceforth known as Park ‘632, in further view of Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, and in further view of Park, KR 20150114182.
Regarding Claim 17, The combination of Park ‘632 and Ogawa doesn’t explicitly teach wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes a multi-layer pattern structure.
Park, KR 20150114182, teaches a double metal structure comprising of a metal thin film pattern 210 that includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in the figures, there is at least three layers, a the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6;).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combinational disclosure of Park ‘632 and Ogawa to further include the teachings of Park in order to provide wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes a multi-layer pattern structure. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Park teaches complementing a metal structure with only a single metal and print layer in a decoration of an electronic device (Park: page 3).
Regarding Claim 18, The combination of Park ‘632, Ogawa, and Park teaches wherein in the mirror ink pattern layer, each of the adjacent pattern elements forming the pattern is provided in an island shape or a line shape (Park ‘632: Figure 1; pages 4-6; Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the pattern is provided in an “island shape”, as seen in the figures).
Regarding Claim 19, The combination of Park ‘632, Ogawa, and Park teaches wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes island-shaped pattern elements, and the mirror ink pattern layer has a multi-layer pattern structure including at least three layers (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210 includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in the figures, there is at least three layers, a the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 ).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, WO 2015/152632, henceforth known as Park ‘632, in further view of Ogawa et al., US Patent Publication 2015/0125671, and in further view of Park, KR 20150114182, in further view of Park, US Patent Publication 2017/0075386, henceforth known as Park ‘386.
Regarding Claim 20, The combination of Park ‘632, Ogawa, and Park teaches wherein the mirror ink pattern layer has a multi-layer pattern structure including at least two layers (Park: Figure 5, 6, and 8; pages 4-6; the metal thin film pattern 210 includes a pattern provided in an island shape, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, and as shown in the figures, there is at least three layers, a the metal thin film pattern 210, the transparent layer 510, a second metal thin film pattern 520, and a print layer 300 ).
The combination of Park ‘632, Ogawa, and Park doesn’t explicitly teach the mirror ink pattern layer includes line-shaped pattern elements.
However, Park, US Patent Publication 2017/0075386, teaches that while a metallic thin film figure 203 can be formed in a quadrangular shape, it may also be formed in a hairline shapes (line-shaped pattern elements).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combinational disclosure of Park, Ogawa, and Park ‘792 to further include the teachings of Park ‘386 in order to provide wherein the mirror ink pattern layer includes line-shaped pattern elements. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Park ‘386 teaches that the metallic thin film figure may also be a hairline shape (line-shaped pattern elements).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 10 and 11 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK F MARINELLI whose telephone number is (571)270-3383. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00AM - 5:00PM PST.
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/PATRICK F MARINELLI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2699
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