DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
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 of this title, 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 206850027 U (Zhi), in view of US 20160119036 A1 (Yang).
Regarding Claim 1:
An electronic device, comprising a device body, a coil and a magnetic conductive member, wherein the coil and the magnetic conductive member are both disposed on the device body (Zhi: Fig. 19, a device has a coil 2 and a ferrite 3, i.e., magnetic conductive member), the magnetic conductive member comprises a first magnetic conductive portion and a second magnetic conductive portion that are connected (Zhi: Fig. 9, "one piece of enhancing magnetic conductor 3a is also provided with addition to magnetic conductor 3. Enhancing is led Magnet 3a is directly connected to magnetic conductor 3 or close to configuration. It is identical with magnetic conductor 3 to strengthen magnetic conductor 3a material, can be considered A part for magnetic conductor 3. Thus, enhancing magnetic conductor 3 forms the plug-in type magnetic conductor in embodiment 2 with magnetic conductor 3 on the whole.", where 3 and 3a are the 1st and 2nd magnetic conductive portions), an orthographic projection of the first magnetic conductive portion at least partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the coil in a direction of a center line of the coil (Zhi: Claim 1, "…A part for the magnetic conductor and the superposition of end gap of the aerial coil…"; Embodiment 1, para. 2, "Aerial coil 2 and perforate 101 are least partially overlapped, the inner ring coil institute of the part of magnetic conductor 3 from aerial coil 2 The opening of formation is exposed, i.e. the superposition of end gap with aerial coil 2 so that at least the one of caused magnetic flux after aerial coil 2 is powered Part can pass through perforate 101 via the guiding of magnetic conductor 3.", where the "superposition of end gap with aerial coil 2" under the top-view (vertical view) state — which is the direction of the coil center line — directly corresponds to the orthographic projection of the first magnetic conductive portion at least partially overlapping the orthographic projection of the coil in the direction of the coil's center line; in addition, Yang teaches, e.g., Fig. 6 and [0058], "The flux guide 600 includes two generally planar guide portions 604A and 604B in addition to an offsetting guide portion 624 … The flux guide 600 interleaves with two generally planar coil portions 606A and 606B of a coil 606.". i.e., the planar guide portion (first magnetic conductive portion) overlapping the planar coil portion in the coil-centerline direction is the standard configuration. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the extension of Zhi’s magnetic conductor explicitly beyond the outermost circle of the coil in the manner taught by Yang to improve flux capture and communication performance), and the second magnetic conductive portion extends out relative to an outermost circle of the coil (Zhi: Fig. 10, "In the variation shown in Figure 10, magnetic conductor 3 is further to the not side overlapping with aerial coil 2 of perforate 101 Extension. Thereby, it is possible to improve the magnetic flux that side overlapping with aerial coil 2 does not pass through of perforate 101, it is linear day to be improved Energy."; and Yang: [0066], "flux guide 800 includes a guide extension portion 805, which serves to gather additional flux from the magnetic field(s) in which the coil 806 is situated and guides it to one or both planar guide portions 804A and 804B."; and Claim 35, "further comprising a guide extension of the flux guide extending beyond an edge of the coil.").
Regarding Claim 2, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first magnetic conductive portion is in contact with the coil (Zhi: Embodiment 1, para. 2: "the inner ring coil institute of the part of magnetic conductor 3 from aerial coil 2 The opening of formation is exposed, i.e. the superposition of end gap with aerial coil 2 so that at least the one of caused magnetic flux after aerial coil 2 is powered Part can pass through perforate 101 via the guiding of magnetic conductor 3."; Yang: [0045] "the planar portion 504 of the ferrite wrapper 500 is generally adjacent to and aligned with the receiving coil 506.sub.RX or at least a portion thereof." Both references teach direct adjacency/contact between the magnetic conductive member's first portion and the coil as the standard and preferred arrangement to maximize magnetic flux guidance).
Regarding Claim 3, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein an innermost circle of the coil encloses a hollow region, and the orthographic projection of the first magnetic conductive portion is at least partially located in an orthographic projection of the hollow region in the direction of the center line of the coil (Zhi: Claim 2 "Have between the part of the open interior positioned at the aerial coil and the edge of the opening of the magnetic conductor Gap."; Embodiment 1, para. 2: "the inner ring coil institute of the part of magnetic conductor 3 from aerial coil 2 The opening of formation is exposed, i.e. the superposition of end gap with aerial coil 2." The phrase "part of magnetic conductor 3 from aerial coil 2 The opening of formation is exposed" directly discloses that a portion of the magnetic conductor's projection is located within the hollow region (opening enclosed by the innermost coil circle) in the top-view (centerline) direction; Yang: [0059]: "aperture 626 and offsetting guide portion 624 of the flux guide 600 are positioned such that a significant portion of the flux penetrating the coil is confined within the flux guide and routed through the coil along a coherent path. For a planar spiral coil, this means passing through the coil assembly within the innermost turn.", which explicitly teaches that positioning the ferrite guide's projection within the hollow region enclosed by the innermost coil turn is the optimal and well-known configuration for flux guidance).
Regarding Claim 4, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the first magnetic conductive portion is provided with a protrusion portion, and the protrusion portion extends into the hollow region (Zhi: Embodiment 2, para. 2-3: "the antenna of present embodiment Device and the difference of embodiment 1 are that the side of aerial coil 2 of magnetic conductor 3 is inserted through the aerial coil 2. That is, One end of the side of aerial coil 2 of magnetic conductor 3 is between aerial coil 2 and metal shell 1. Due to the insertion of magnetic conductor 3 so that aerial coil 2, which produces, to be tilted, therefore the ring of magnetic line of force H caused by aerial coil 2 Major axis as shown in Figure 8 relative to metal shell 1 face tilt. That is, the component enhancing of the normal direction of metal shell 1. Therefore, The longest distance that can be communicated is elongated, further increases antenna performance." The portion of magnetic conductor 3 that is physically "inserted through the aerial coil 2" with "one end … between aerial coil 2 and metal shell 1" constitutes a protrusion portion of the first magnetic conductive portion that extends into the hollow region of the coil; Yang: [0059]: "aperture 626 and offsetting guide portion 624 of the flux guide 600 are positioned such that a significant portion of the flux penetrating the coil is confined within the flux guide and routed through the coil along a coherent path. For a planar spiral coil, this means passing through the coil assembly within the innermost turn.")
Regarding Claim 5, Zhi as modified further teaches:
5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein two magnetic conductive members, a first magnetic conductive member and a second magnetic conductive member, are provided, and the second magnetic conductive portion of the first magnetic conductive member and the second magnetic conductive portion of the second magnetic conductive member are respectively located on two sides of the coil away from each other (Zhi: Claim 11: "The magnetic conductor by being inserted through the first magnetic conductor of the first coil and second coil in the same direction And second magnetic conductor form."; Other Variations, FIG. 16: "can as shown in figure 16 that Sample inserts magnetic conductor 3 respectively to upper and lower two aerial coils 2A, 2B, and the direction of insertion of two magnetic conductors 3 is identical. Now, by Magnetic conductor 3 is all inserted into the aerial coil in both sides, antenna performance further improves." Two magnetic conductors inserted on opposite sides of the coil arrangement, with their respective extending portions (second magnetic conductive portions) located on two sides away from each other; Yang: [0069]–[0070]: "the device of the current embodiment includes a pair of planar coil portions 906A and 906B (forming one coil or sub-coil) on one side of a metallic component 916. Adjacent to an adjoining side of the metallic component 916, the interleaved coil assembly includes another pair of planar coil portions 906C and 906D (forming another coil or sub-coil) … devices of the current embodiment further includes planar guide portions 904C and 904D interleaved with these planar coil portions 906C and 906D.").
Regarding Claim 6, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein an innermost circle of the coil encloses a hollow region, a gap is defined between the first magnetic conductive portion of the first magnetic conductive member and the first magnetic conductive portion of the second magnetic conductive member, and the gap is opposite to the hollow region (Zhi: Other Variations, FIG. 16: "can as shown in figure 16 that Sample inserts magnetic conductor 3 respectively to upper and lower two aerial coils 2A, 2B, and the direction of insertion of two magnetic conductors 3 is identical." When two magnetic conductors are each inserted from opposite sides through their respective sub-coils of the figure-8 configuration, the inward-facing portions of the two magnetic conductors are necessarily separated by a spatial gap aligned with the central region (hollow) of the overall coil arrangement; Yang: [0073]: "FIG. 10A shows that the flat coil 1006 (or rather the PCB or other structure which carries it) defines two apertures 1026A and 1026B through which corresponding offsetting guide portions 1024A and 1024B pass when the flux guide 1000 and coil 1006 are assembled as shown by FIG. 10B."; [0059]: "aperture 626 and offsetting guide portion 624 of the flux guide 600 are positioned such that a significant portion of the flux penetrating the coil is confined within the flux guide and routed through the coil along a coherent path.")
Regarding Claim 7, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the orthographic projection of the coil is located outside orthographic projections of all the magnetic conductive members in the direction of the center line of the coil (Zhi: Claim 1 "Between the part inside the outward flange of the aerial coil of the magnetic conductor and the outward flange of the aerial coil With gap."; Embodiment 1, para. 3: "a part for magnetic conductor 3 is removed so that positioned at day Part inside the outward flange of line coil 2 and there is gap S1 between the outward flange of aerial coil 2." Because gap S1 exists between the magnetic conductor's portion and the outer edge of the coil, the magnetic conductor does not cover the full coil projection in the top-view (centerline) direction — the outer portion of the coil projection falls outside the magnetic conductor's projection. This directly satisfies the requirement that a part of the coil's orthographic projection is located outside the orthographic projections of all magnetic conductive members; Yang: [0063]–[0064]: "the particular flux guide 700 only includes one generally planar guide portion 704A and an offsetting guide portion 724. That guide portion 724 is positioned within an aperture 726 formed between the coil 706. Partially interleaved antenna assemblies 700 of the current embodiment might find use when some improvement in system-level performance is desired but increasing the thickness of the overall device is not desired.")
Regarding Claim 8, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the coil has a first size in a first direction and a second size in a second direction, the first size is greater than the second size, and the first magnetic conductive portion extends along the first direction (Zhi: Claim 8: "The aerial coil is annular, Under vertical view state, the aerial coil is located at the side on the length direction of the perforate."; Embodiment 1, para. 1: "Aerial coil 2 is by being wound into spiral helicine coil-conductor and by inner ring The opening that coil-conductor surrounds is formed." The aerial coil 2 is annular and positioned on the side along the length direction (first direction, greater dimension) of the aperture, with the magnetic conductor 3 extending along that same length direction. This maps directly to a coil having a first size in a first direction greater than a second size in a second direction, with the first magnetic conductive portion extending along the first direction; Yang: [0032]: "FIG. 2 illustrates that coil 206 deviates from its otherwise generally oblong shape near its upper, left corner.", and [0059]: "FIG. 6 illustrates a generally symmetric flux guide 600 with generally planar flux guide portions 604A and 604B beginning approximately at the centrally located aperture 626 and extending outwardly to either side.".)
Regarding Claim 9, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein in the first direction, two ends of the first magnetic conductive portion are a first end and a second end respectively, two ends of the second magnetic conductive portion are a third end and a fourth end respectively, the first end is connected to and aligned with the third end, and the second end is connected to and aligned with the fourth end (Zhi: Embodiment 1, para. 2: "the inner ring coil institute of the part of magnetic conductor 3 from aerial coil 2 The opening of formation is exposed, i.e. the superposition of end gap with aerial coil 2 so that at least the one of caused magnetic flux after aerial coil 2 is powered Part can pass through perforate 101 via the guiding of magnetic conductor 3." In the base Embodiment 1 configuration (FIG. 3), the magnetic conductor 3 extends along the length of the coil, with its ends naturally aligned with the transverse boundaries of the coil, so that the first portion (over the coil) and the extended portion (beyond the coil, per FIG. 10 variation) share aligned ends along the first direction; Yang: [0059]: "FIG. 6 illustrates a generally symmetric flux guide 600 with generally planar flux guide portions 604A and 604B beginning approximately at the centrally located aperture 626 and extending outwardly to either side. Likewise, the planar coil portions 606A and 606B also begin at approximately the aperture 626 and extend outwardly there from.". which explicitly teaches that the first and second planar guide portions (corresponding to the first and second magnetic conductive portions) begin and end at aligned positions relative to the coil portions.)
Regarding Claim 10, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device further comprises a substrate and a shielding member, the substrate and the shielding member are both disposed on the device body, the substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the coil is disposed on the first surface of the substrate, the shielding member is disposed on the second surface of the substrate, and the magnetic conductive member is located on one side of the coil away from the substrate (Zhi: Background Technology, para. 4-5: "In traditional NFC antenna application, general choosing Select and FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit, flexible PCB), i.e. NFC antenna radiant body are placed on above battery, together When in order to reduce negative effect of the battery for NFC antenna, it is necessary to set ferrite among FPC and battery."; Zhi discloses the conventional three-layer stack: a substrate (FPC/circuit board) having a first surface bearing the coil (NFC antenna radiant body) and a second surface facing a shielding component (ferrite between FPC and battery), with the magnetic conductor (ferrite) serving as the shielding member on the second surface side; Embodiment 1, para. 1: "aerial coil 2 is provided with below metal shell 1, in antenna line The lower section of circle 2 is provided with magnetic conductor 3, e.g. sheet-like formed sintering magnetic ferrite." The magnetic conductor 3 is on the side of the coil away from the metal shell, consistent with the magnetic conductive member being on the side of the coil away from the substrate/shielding layer; Yang: [0022]–[0023]: "FIG. 2 illustrates a device 202 with its back cover 204 removed … the device 202 includes a battery 214, and other metallic components 216 (or components including metallic structures) such as a printed circuit board (PCB) 218, a camera 220, etc. … when the back cover 204 is placed on the chassis 212, it places the coil 206 in electrical communication with other functional components of the device 202. However, it also places the coil 206 in close proximity to some or all of the metallic components 216 (such as the battery 214)."; Claims 41–42: "a housing having a metallic component positioned in the housing and defining a first surface; a coil defining a first generally planar coil portion define an aperture. a flux guide defining a first generally planar guide portion adjacent to the first planar coil portion and being interleaved with the coil at the aperture, the interleaved coil and flux guide being adjacent to the first surface of the metallic component … the flux guide is a continuous sheet of ferrite."
Yang explicitly teaches the layered device architecture of substrate (PCB/chassis) / coil / ferrite guide, with the PCB on one side and the ferrite magnetic guide on the other side of the coil).
Regarding Claim 11, Zhi as modified further teaches:
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device further comprises a camera, the camera is disposed on a top of the device body, the camera and the second magnetic conductive portion are arranged along a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the first magnetic conductive portion and the second magnetic conductive portion (Zhi: FIG. 19, other variations: "Figure 19 is the rearview of the structure for the communication equipment 100 for showing to possess antenna assembly of the present utility model. The communication In equipment 100, rear shell of the metal shell 1 as communication equipment 100, perforate 101 which is provided with. Aerial coil 2 and ferrite 3 It is arranged inside communication equipment 100.")
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHITONG CHEN whose telephone number is (571) 270-1936. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:30am - 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuwen Pan can be reached on 571-272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZHITONG CHEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2649
Prosecution Insights