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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/27/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Finn (US 20210150294 A1; herein referred to as Finn ‘294) in view of Finn et al. (US 20140209691 A1; herein referred to as Finn ‘691).
Regarding claim 1, Finn ‘294 discloses (Fig. 62) a RFID enabled metal transaction card with shaped opening comprising:
a metal plate 2910 having a first through hole 2936 (¶280); and
a coil including first and second coils, the first coil being wound along the first through hole and having an opening that overlaps the first through hole, the second coil being wound adjacent an outer edge of the metal plate and connected to the first coil (¶283; Fig. 62),
wherein an edge of the first through hole includes a first edge positioned on one side in a first direction as viewed from a center of the first through hole and a second edge positioned on another side in the first direction as viewed from the center of the first through hole (¶280 - metal artwork; Fig. 62),
wherein the first edge has a first protruding part protruding toward the second edge and overlapping a winding area of the first coil (Fig. 62), and
wherein the second edge has a second protruding part protruding toward the first edge and overlapping the winding area of the first coil (Fig. 62).
Finn ‘294 does not explicitly disclose the second coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate.
Finn ‘691 teaches (Fig. 1A) a card body with booster antenna comprising: FIG. 1A shows an exemplary booster antenna BA comprising a card antenna CA component, a coupler coil CC component and an extension antenna EA component (¶150; Fig. 1A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the antenna circuit layer of Finn ‘294 with the booster antenna coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate of Finn ‘691 by connecting the module antenna to a booster antenna coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate in order to improve coupling between the antenna module with an external contactless reader (Finn ‘691: ¶142).
Regarding claim 2, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches module antenna (3316) and shaped chip opening (3314) are configured to have a first exemplary proportional overlap (3334) such that the shapes and sizes of each correspond with a proportional dimensional size related to the percentage overlap of a metal shelf ledge (3336) surrounding a lower edge (3338) of shaped chip opening (3314) with module antenna (3316) (Finn ‘294: Fig. 66, ¶322).
Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691, as applied to claim 1 above, is silent regarding wherein the first through hole has a point symmetrical planar shape with respect to the center of the first through hole.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that since the module antenna is connected to the card edge antenna, the shaped chip opening may also read as a through hole in the metal plate. In such configuration, the shaped chip opening has a point symmetrical planar shape with respect to the center of the first through hole (Fin ‘294: Fig. 66).
Regarding claim 3, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches module antenna (3316) and shaped chip opening (3314) are configured to have a first exemplary proportional overlap (3334) such that the shapes and sizes of each correspond with a proportional dimensional size related to the percentage overlap of a metal shelf ledge (3336) surrounding a lower edge (3338) of shaped chip opening (3314) with module antenna (3316) (Finn ‘294: Fig. 66, ¶322).
Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691, as applied to claim 1 above, is silent regarding wherein tips of the first and second protruding parts are positioned outside a radial center of the winding area of the first coil.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that since the module antenna is connected to the card edge antenna, the shaped chip opening may also read as a through hole in the metal plate. In such configuration, the shaped chip opening has a point symmetrical planar shape with respect to the center of the first through hole (Fin ‘294: Fig. 66).
Regarding claim 4, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches wherein the first edge has a plurality of the first protruding parts, and wherein the second edge has a plurality of the second protruding parts (Fin ‘294: ¶280 – metal artwork; Fig. 62; n.b. the claim limitations does not specify any relative alignment e.g. parallel or orthogonal).
Regarding claim 5, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches wherein a corner of a tip of each of the first and second protruding parts is rounded (Fin ‘294: ¶280 – metal artwork; Fig. 62; n.b. the claim limitations does not specify any relative alignment e.g. parallel or orthogonal).
Regarding claim 6, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches wherein the edge of the first through hole further includes a third edge positioned on one side in a second direction crossing the first direction as viewed from the center of the first through hole and a fourth edge positioned on another side in the second direction as viewed from the center of the first through hole, wherein the third edge has a third protruding part protruding toward the fourth edge and overlapping the winding area of the first coil, and wherein the fourth edge has a fourth protruding part protruding toward the third edge and overlapping the winding area of the first coil (Fin ‘294: ¶280 – metal artwork; Fig. 62; n.b. the claim limitations does not specify any relative alignment e.g. parallel or orthogonal).
Regarding claim 7, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 6 above and further teaches wherein the first edge has a plurality of the first protruding parts, wherein the second edge has a plurality of the second protruding parts, wherein the third edge has a plurality of the third protruding parts, and wherein the fourth edge has a plurality of the fourth protruding parts (Fin ‘294: ¶280 – metal artwork; Fig. 62; n.b. the claim limitations does not specify any relative alignment e.g. parallel or orthogonal).
Regarding claim 8, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches wherein the first protruding part has a first connection part and a first wide part positioned on the another side in the first direction relative to the first connection part, wherein the second protruding part has a second connection part and a second wide part positioned on the one side in the first direction relative to the second connection part, and wherein a width of each of the first and second wide parts in a second direction crossing the first direction is larger than a width of the first and second connection parts in the second direction (Fin ‘294: ¶280 – metal artwork; Fig. 62; n.b. the claim limitations does not specify any relative alignment e.g. parallel or orthogonal).
Regarding claim 9, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches module antenna (3316) and shaped chip opening (3314) are configured to have a first exemplary proportional overlap (3334) such that the shapes and sizes of each correspond with a proportional dimensional size related to the percentage overlap of a metal shelf ledge (3336) surrounding a lower edge (3338) of shaped chip opening (3314) with module antenna (3316) (Finn ‘294: Fig. 66, ¶322).
Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691, as applied to claim 1 above, is silent regarding wherein the second coil is larger in pattern width and smaller in a number of turns than the first coil.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that since the module antenna is connected to the card edge antenna, the shaped chip opening may also read as a through hole in the metal plate (Fin ‘294: Fig. 66). In such configuration, the largest coil contains less turns than the smaller coil (Fin ‘691: Fig. 1A).
Regarding claim 10, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 1 above and further teaches module antenna (3316) and shaped chip opening (3314) are configured to have a first exemplary proportional overlap (3334) such that the shapes and sizes of each correspond with a proportional dimensional size related to the percentage overlap of a metal shelf ledge (3336) surrounding a lower edge (3338) of shaped chip opening (3314) with module antenna (3316) (Finn ‘294: Fig. 66, ¶322). Metal transaction card body (2900) further includes an eighteenth example of a chip opening (3138) including a non-rectangular, lower shaped chip hole (3140) and a generally rectangular, upper shaped chip hole (3142) being formed around lower shaped chip hole (3140) (Finn ‘294: Fig. 64B, ¶302).
Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691, as applied to claim 1 above, is silent regarding a magnetic body having a second through hole overlapping the first through hole, wherein the second through hole is larger in area than the first through hole so as to allow an entire first through hole to overlap the second through hole.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that since the module antenna is connected to the card edge antenna, the shaped chip opening may also read as a through hole in the metal plate (Fin ‘294: Fig. 66). In such configuration, the upper shaped chip hole overlaps the lower shaped chip hole, wherein the upper shaped chip hole is larger in area than the lower shaped chip hole so as to allow an entire lower shaped chip hole to overlap the upper shaped chip hole. (Finn ‘294: Fig. 64B, ¶302).
Regarding claim 11, Finn ‘294 discloses:
an antenna device comprising:
a metal plate 3100 having a first through hole 3138 (¶302); and
a coil including first and second coils, the first coil being wound along the first through hole and having an opening that overlaps the first through hole, the second coil being wound adjacent an outer edge of the metal plate and connected to the first coil (¶283; Fig. 62); and
an IC module 3170 that overlaps the first coil through the first through hole (¶305; Fig. 62, Fig. 64A),
wherein an edge of the first through hole includes a first edge positioned on one side in a first direction as viewed from a center of the first through hole and a second edge positioned on another side in the first direction as viewed from the center of the first through hole (Fig. 64B, ¶302),
wherein the first edge has a first protruding part protruding toward the second edge and overlapping a winding area of the first coil (Fig. 64B; ¶322), and
wherein the second edge has a second protruding part protruding toward the first edge and overlapping the winding area of the first coil (Fig. 64B; ¶322).
Finn ‘294 does not explicitly disclose the second coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate.
Finn ‘691 teaches (Fig. 1A) a card body with booster antenna comprising: FIG. 1A shows an exemplary booster antenna BA comprising a card antenna CA component, a coupler coil CC component and an extension antenna EA component (¶150; Fig. 1A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the antenna circuit layer of Finn ‘294 with the booster antenna coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate of Finn ‘691 by connecting the module antenna to a booster antenna coil being wound along an outer edge of the metal plate in order to improve coupling between the antenna module with an external contactless reader (Finn ‘691: ¶142).
Regarding claim 12, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 11 above and further teaches wherein the IC module has a coupling coil that overlaps the first coil in a plan view, and wherein the first and second protruding parts overlap a winding area of the coupling coil (Finn ‘294: Fig. 66, ¶322).
Regarding claim 13, Finn ‘294 modified by Finn ‘691 teaches the apparatus of claim 11 above and further teaches wherein the first coil is disposed on one surface side of the metal plate, wherein the IC module is disposed on another surface side of the metal plate (Finn ‘294: Fig. 62), wherein the IC module has a module substrate, an IC chip mounted on the module substrate, and a protective resin covering the IC chip, and wherein the protective resin is at least partially positioned in the first through hole (¶347).
Conclusion
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/TOAN C LY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876