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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-12 and 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhao et al. (CN 112003006, cited by the applicant and corresponding U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2023/0231311 is used for the action).
Re claim 1: Zhao teaches a circularly polarized antenna comprising a main board (100), a radiator (200) in a ring shape, a feed structure (110) arranged between the main board and the radiator, the main board being electrically connected to the radiator through the feed structure, and a ground terminal (120) and a Bluetooth antenna (700) serving as a perturbation structure arranged between the main board and the radiator and configured to disturb a resonant electromagnetic field generated by the radiator (see figs. 1, 31; paragraphs 0081-0092, 0213).
Re claim 2: Wherein the perturbation structure is electrically connected to the radiator or the main board (paragraph 0084).
Re claim 3: Wherein a Bluetooth antenna (700) also serving as the perturbation structure has an arc shape, an axis of the perturbation structure is colinear with an axis of the radiator, and a central angle corresponding to the perturbation structure is smaller than 180˚ (fig. 31).
Re claim 4: Wherein: the perturbation structure includes two members (120, 700) arranged at an interval along a circumference of the radiator, and a central angle corresponding to each of the two members is smaller than 90˚ (fig. 31).
Re claim 5: Wherein the perturbation structure is block-shaped and is electrically connected to the main board or the radiator (paragraph 0084).
Re claim 6: Wherein the perturbation structure is a solid structure or is hollow inside (paragraph 0084).
Re claim 7: Wherein the Bluetooth antenna (700) serving as the perturbation structure is a concave structure and is arranged at the radiator, and an opening of the concave structure faces the main board (fig. 31).
Re claim 8: Wherein: a projection of a centerline of the perturbation structure at the radiator and a connection place of the feed structure and the radiator form an arc α in a surrounding direction, and α ∈ (0°,90°) ∪ (180°,270°), and the surrounding direction is a counterclockwise surrounding direction looking from a top of the radiator (figs. 1 and 31).
Re claim 9: Wherein α ∈ (0°,60°) ∪ (180°,240°) (figs. 1 and 31).
Re claim 10: Wherein: a projection of a centerline of the perturbation structure at the radiator and a connection place of the feed structure and the radiator form an arc α in a surrounding direction, and α ∈ (90°,180°) ∪ (270°,360°), and the surrounding direction is a counterclockwise surrounding direction looking from a top of the radiator (figs. 1 and 31).
Re claim 11: Wherein α ∈ (120°,180°) ∪ (300°,360°) (figs. 1 and 31).
Re claim 12: Wherein: a projection of the feed structure in a projection plane along a projection direction is outside a projection range of the perturbation structure in the projection plane along the projection direction, the projection plane is on a side of the main board away from the radiator and parallel to the main board, the projection direction is perpendicular to the projection plane (figs. 1 and 31).
Re claim 15: Zhao teaches a wearable device (fig. 10) serving as an electronic device comprising a housing (310 and 320) serving as a shell, and a circularly polarized antenna including a main board (100), a radiator (200) in a ring shape, a feed structure (110) arranged between the main board and the radiator, the main board being electrically connected to the radiator through the feed structure, and a ground terminal (120) and a Bluetooth antenna (700) serving as a perturbation structure arranged between the main board and the radiator and configured to disturb a resonant electromagnetic field generated by the radiator (see figs. 1, 10-12, 31; paragraphs 0081-0092, 0178-0185, 0213).
Re claim 16: Wherein the perturbation structure is electrically connected to the radiator or the main board (paragraph 0084).
Re claim 17: Wherein a Bluetooth antenna (700) also serving as the perturbation structure has an arc shape, an axis of the perturbation structure is colinear with an axis of the radiator, and a central angle corresponding to the perturbation structure is smaller than 180˚ (fig. 31).
Re claim 18: Wherein: the perturbation structure includes two members (120, 700) arranged at an interval along a circumference of the radiator, and a central angle corresponding to each of the two members is smaller than 90˚ (fig. 31).
Re claim 19: Wherein the perturbation structure is block-shaped and is electrically connected to the main board or the radiator (paragraph 0084).
Re claim 20: Wherein the perturbation structure is a solid structure or is hollow inside (paragraph 0084).
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) 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao.
The teachings of Zhao have been discussed above.
Although, Zhao teaches the antenna having the main board and the radiator, he fails to particularly teach the distance between the main board and the radiator.
However, it would have been an obvious design variation well within the ordinary skill in the art failing to provide any unexpected results for choosing the particular distance between the main board and the radiator, that is, the dimension of the antenna can be various according to user’s need in which the distance between the main board and the radiator also can be adjusted, and therefore an obvious expedient.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sepanniitty et al. (US 11059550) and Wen et al. (US 2019/0319339) teach communication terminals.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEUNG H LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-2401. The examiner can normally be reached 7-4:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Paik can be reached at 571-272-2404. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SEUNG H LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Prosecution Insights