REISSUE PROCEDURAL REMINDERS
Disclosure of other proceedings. Applicant is reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.178(b), to timely apprise the Office of any prior or concurrent proceed-ing in which the Patent Under Reissue is or was involved. These proceedings would include interferences, reissues, reexaminations, and litigation.
Disclosure of material information. Applicant is further reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.56, to timely apprise the Office of any information which is mate-rial to patentability of the claims under consideration in this reissue appli-cation.
These disclosure obligations rest with each individual associated with the filing and prosecution of this application for reissue. See also MPEP §§ 1404, 1442.01 and 1442.04.
Manner of making amendments. Applicant is reminded that changes to the Instant Application must comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.173, such that all amendments are made in respect to the Patent Under Reissue as opposed to any prior changes entered in the Instant Application. All added material must be underlined, and all omitted material must be enclosed in brackets, in accordance with Rule 173. Applicant may submit an appendix to any response in which claims are marked up to show changes with respect to a previous set of claims, however, such claims should be clearly denoted as “not for entry.”
Claims Priority
The US Application for Patent No. 17/038,963 (now US Patent No. 11,664,583) has been filed on September 30, 2020, which is a continuation of the US Application for Patent No. 15/722,355 (now US Patent No. 10,879,588) filed on October 2, 2017, which further claims benefit of provisional application No. 62/439,356 filed on December 27, 2016.
In addition, the present application is filed on or after March 16, 2013, hence it is examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Interpretation
During examination, claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification and limitations in the specification are not read into the claims. See MPEP § 2111 et seq.
Upon review of the original specification and prosecution history, the examiner has found no instances where applicants have included lexicographic definitions, either express or implied. Therefore, for the purposes of claim interpretation, the examiner concludes that there are no claim terms for which Applicants are acting as their own lexicographer. See MPEP § 2111.01.IV.
Additionally, upon review of the pending claims, the examiner finds no instances where the claim terms explicitly include functional language which would invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Objection
Claims 59, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 68 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 21, 25, 28, 26, 27 and 30 respectively. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Objection to Specification
The Amendment to the specification filed on March 26, 2025, is objected to because reissue application No. 19/091,286 automatically incorporates the content of the US Patent No. 11,664,583, as it is a reissue thereof. Accordingly, the amendment to the specification should not recite “which is incorporated by reference into the present application”.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 2 of U.S. Patent No. 11,929,547. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are both directed to a mobile device comprising an antenna. The device further comprises a metal frame with contains first and second cuts, feed element construed in the similar manner.
Additionally, claims 21, 31, 44 and 59 is rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 17 and 18 of U.S. Patent No. 11,929,547. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are both directed to a mobile device comprising an antenna construed in the similar manner. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include a camera in a mobile device such as mobile phone, as taught by Song (US Publication No. 2018/0375973), because such a feature was well in the art at the time the invention was made.
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.
Claims 1, 3-5, 8, 9, 12 & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Andujar Linares et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0237151 “Linares”).
With respect to claim 1, Linares teaches a mobile device (Figs. 1-3, 6), comprising:
a system circuit board (PCB, Para [0020]), comprising a system ground plane (Fig. 1, Para. [0020]);
a metal frame (8-10 / 202, 209, 210 / 302, 309, 310 / 602, 609, 610, 611 Figs. 1-3, 6 Para [0020], [0031]), at least comprising a first portion (602 Fig. 6 Para. [0031]) and a second portion (611 Fig. 6, Para. [0031]), wherein the metal frame has a first cut point (612 Fig. 6, Para. [0031]) positioned between the first portion and the second portion; a first feeding element (21 / 621, Figs. 1, 6, Para. [0019], [0031]), electrically coupled to the first portion, wherein a first antenna structure is formed by the first feeding element and the first portion (Fig. 6), and the second portion is excited by the first antenna structure using a coupling mechanism (coupling of 611 with 602 through gap 612 and Para. [0031]); and one or more other antenna elements (610 Fig. 6, Para. [0031]), wherein the metal frame further has a second cut point (gap between 611 & 610, Fig. 6) for separating the other antenna elements from the first antenna structure; wherein the first portion and the second portion of the metal frame are disposed at a same side of the mobile device (Fig. 6) wherein the other antenna elements are used as main antennas of the mobile device, and the first antenna structure is used as an auxiliary antenna of the mobile device (multiple configurations of the antennas could be either used as main or auxiliary ones. This limitation is not directed to structure of an antenna but rather to its intended use which is guided by utility and/or design choice).
With respect to claim 3, Linares teaches further comprising: an RF (Radio Frequency) module, electrically coupled to the first portion and the second portion (5, Para. [0019]).
With respect to claim 4, Linares teaches wherein the first portion has a first end and a second end (Fig. 6), the first end of the first portion is a first shorting point which is electrically coupled to the system ground plane (coupled to ground 20 better seen in Fig. 1), and the second end of the first portion is adjacent to the first cut point (end of 602 by 612 Fig. 6).
With respect to claim 5, Linares teaches wherein the first feeding element substantially has an L-shape or a straight-line shape (Fig. 6).
With respect to claim 8, Linares teaches wherein the metal frame further has a third cut point positioned at the other antenna elements (gap between 609 and 602, Fig. 6).
With respect to claim 9, Linares teaches wherein the first feeding element is directly electrically connected to a first connection point on the first portion (Fig. 6), and the first connection point is positioned between the first end and the second end of the first portion (Fig. 6).
With respect to claim 12, Linares teaches wherein the first antenna structure further comprises a tuning element (204/304/604 and Figs. 2, 3, 6) which comprises: a plurality of matching elements (232/332/632, 633, Figs. 2, 3, 6 and Pars. [0025], [0026]); and a switch element (231/331/631, Figs. 2, 3, 6, Para. [0025], [0026]), electrically coupled to a position between the first end and the second end of the first portion (Figs. 2, 3, 6), wherein the switch element is configured to select one of the matching elements, such that the first portion is electrically coupled through the selected matching element to the system ground plane (Para. [0025], [0026]).
With respect to claim 13, Linares teaches wherein the matching elements comprise one or more inductors and/or one or more capacitors (Para. [0025], [0026]).
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 12-17, 21-24, 29-34, 36-37, 42-43, 44-47, 49-50, 55-62 and 67-69 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Song et al (US Publication No. 2018/0375973, “Song”).
With respect to claim 1, Song disclosers a mobile device, comprising: a system circuit board, comprising a system ground plane (para. [0029]);
a metal frame (para. [0113] “metal member”), at least comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the metal frame has a first cut point positioned between the first portion and the second portion (wherein first and second portions are marked below in the annotated Figure 4);
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Annotated Figure 4
a first feeding element (Figure 4, element 510), electrically coupled to the first portion (“A”), wherein a first antenna structure is formed by the first feeding element and the first portion (Figure 4, element 510 and section “(A)”), and the second portion is excited by the first antenna structure using a coupling mechanism or is excited by a second feeding element (Figure 4, annotated above “second feeding point”, para. [0119], wherein element “C” is a parasitic coupled antenna); and one or more other antenna elements, wherein the metal frame further has a second cut point for separating the other antenna elements (“D” elements) from the first antenna structure (annotated Figure 4 above, “second cut point”); wherein the first portion and the second portion of the metal frame are disposed at a same side of the mobile device (wherein the first portion and the second portion are disposed at the top of the device, as illustrated in the figure above);
wherein the other antenna elements are used as main antennas of the mobile device, and the first antenna structure is used as an auxiliary antenna of the mobile device (Abstract, “various forms of antennas by using a plurality of conductive members provided on the side parts”. Consequently, multiple configurations of the antennas could be either used as main or auxiliary ones, which is dictated by the intended use and the design choice).
With respect to claim 2, Song discloses the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second feeding element is electrically coupled to the second portion, and wherein a second antenna structure is formed by the second feeding element and the second portion (as depicted in the Figure below).
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With respect to claim 3, the mobile device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal frame further comprises a third portion adjacent to the second portion (as illustrated below).
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With respect to claim 4, Song discloses the mobile device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the third portion of the metal frame is excited by the second feeding element (Figure 4, since the second feed element parasitically feeds antenna element of the second portion and the antenna which is part of third portion is in a close proximity, the third portion could be parasitically via mutual coupling).
With respect to claim 5, Song discloses the mobile device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: a long and narrow clearance region, formed between the first portion, the second, and the third portion (as illustrated in figure below the “spacing” corresponds to the narrow clearance region among, first, second and third portions).
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With respect to claim 7, Song discloses the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: an RF (Radio Frequency) module, electrically coupled to the first portion and the second portion (para. [0104], wherein “RFID” corresponds to the radio frequency module).
With respect to claim 8, Song discloses the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first portion has a first end and a second end, the first end of the first portion is a first shorting point which is electrically coupled to the system ground plane (Figure 4, element 520), and the second end of the first portion is adjacent to the first cut point (as illustrated in figure below).
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With respect to claim 12, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first feeding element is separate from the first portion (as illustrated in figure below, wherein feed element 510 and element 431 (“first portion”)), and a coupling gap (the space between element 431 and 471 and the connector piece 432) is formed between the first feeding element and the first portion.
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With respect to claim 13, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal frame further has a third cut point positioned at the other antenna elements (as depicted in the annotated figure below).
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With respect to claim 14, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the metal frame has a fourth cut point arranged for completely separating the third portion from the other portions of the metal frame (as illustrated in the annotated Figure 4 below).
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With respect to claim 15, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: a display device, wherein the first cut point and the fourth cut point are arranged to be close to a middle region of the display device (as illustrated below first cut is close to the middle vertically and fourth cut is close to the middle looking horizontally).
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With respect to claim 16, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first feeding element has a vertical projection which at least partially overlaps the display device, and the second feeding element has another vertical projection which at least partially overlaps the display device (as depicted in the annotated Figure 4 below).
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With respect to claim 17, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first feeding element is directly electrically connected to a first connection point on the first portion, and the first connection point is positioned between the first end and the second end of the first portion (as illustrated below).
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With respect to claims 21 and 59, Song discloses teaches a mobile device (Abstract, “mobile terminal”), comprising: a metal frame (para. [0007] and [0067]), at least comprising a first portion and a second portion, wherein the metal frame at least has a first cut point positioned between the first portion and the second portion (as illustrated in the annotated Figure 4 below);
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a first feeding element (Figure 4, element 510), electrically connected to the first portion (as illustrated in the figure above), wherein a first antenna structure is formed by the first feeding element and the first portion (Figure 4, elements 431 and 510), and the second portion is excited by the first antenna structure using a coupling mechanism or is excited by a second feeding element (annotated Figure 4 above shows “second portion” been fed by the “second feed element”);
one or more other antenna elements formed by the other portions of the metal frame (Figure 4, elements “(B)”, 430), wherein the metal frame further has a second cut point for separating the other antenna elements from the first antenna structure (as illustrated in the Figure above, the cut is positioned between parts (“(A)” and “(B)”));
a back cover, comprising a metal portion and a non-metal portion (para. [0011]); and a camera, embedded in the metal portion or the non-metal portion (Figure 1C, element 121b and para. [0096]); wherein the first portion and the second portion of the metal frame are disposed at a same side of the mobile device (wherein the top portion of the mobile device is “the same side”); wherein the other antenna elements are used as main antennas of the mobile device, and the first antenna structure is used as an auxiliary antenna of the mobile device (Abstract, “various forms of antennas by using a plurality of conductive members provided on the side parts”. Consequently, multiple configurations of the antennas could be either used as main or auxiliary ones, which is dictated by the intended use and the design choice).
With respect to the independent claims 31 and 44, Song also teaches a back cover comprising a metal portion (Figure 3, element 430 and para. [0113]), a first non-metal portion (Figure 3, element 420 and para. [0156]) and a second non-metal portion (Figure 3, element 421 and para. [0116]).
With respect to claim 22, Song teaches the mobile device wherein the metal portion substantially has a rectangular shape (as illustrated in figure 3, the frame 450 has substantially rectangular shape).
With respect to claims 23 and 62, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the non-metal portion substantially has a loop shape, a U-shape, a straight-line shape, or a rectangular shape (Figure 3, element 421 and para. [0113], “the first rear surface portion 420 includes an antenna region 421 from which the metal is removed, and the antenna is accommodated in the antenna region 421”).
With respect to claim 24, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the non-metal portion substantially has a loop shape, and the metal portion is surrounded by the non-metal portion (Figure 3, element 421 and para. [0113], “the first rear surface portion 420 includes an antenna region 421 from which the metal is removed, and the antenna is accommodated in the antenna region 421”, hence the non-metal portion 421 surrounds metal portion 450. Figure 10, once the bottom piece is included the 421 non-metal part on the inside of the element 420, creates a loop-like shape
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).
With respect to claims 29, 42, 58, 67 and 69, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein a part of the non-metal portion prevents the metal portion from directly touching the first portion and the second portion, and wherein the camera, the first portion and the second portion are disposed at the same side of the mobile device (Figure 3, wherein non-metal portion 421, protect the antenna metal frame as illustrated in figure 4 from touching the outer metal case 430, wherein the camera and the first and second portions are on the rear side of the phone (para. [0112])).
With respect to claim 55, Song teaches the mobile device wherein the first non-metal portion prevents the metal portion from directly touching the metal frame (Figure 3, element 421 prevents metal portion 430 from touching a metal part 450).
With respect to claim 56, Song teaches the mobile device wherein the second non-metal portion prevents the metal portion from directly touching the metal frame (Figure 3, element 420 prevents metal portion 430 from touching a metal part 450).
With respect to claims 30, 43, 57 and 68, Song further teaches the mobile device, wherein a boundary between the non- metal portion and the metal frame is positioned at a back side of the mobile device (para. [0112], wherein those elements are placed toward the rear part/surface of the phone).
With respect to claims 32 and 45, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the metal portion is positioned between the first non-metal portion and the second non-metal portion (as illustrated in Figure 3, metal portion 430 is positioned between non-metal portions 421 and 420).
With respect to claims 33 and 46, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the metal portion is configured to separate the first non-metal portion from the second non-metal portion (as illustrated in Figure 3, metal portion 430 is positioned between non-metal portions 421 and 420).
With respect to claims 34 and 47, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the metal portion substantially has a rectangular shape (as illustrated in Figure 3, the frame 430 has runs around the circumference of the phone which is substantially rectangular in shape).
With respect to claims 36 and 49, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the first non-metal portion substantially has a straight-line shape or a rectangular shape (as illustrated in Figure 3, non-metal portion 420 is substantially rectangular in shape).
With respect to claims 37 and 50, Song teaches the mobile device, wherein the second non-metal portion substantially has a U-shape or a loop shape (Figure 3, element 421 is substantially U-shape or loop shape if the bottom piece of the phone is present).
With respect to claim 60, Song teaches the mobile device wherein the metal portion is surrounded by the non-metal portion (Figure 3, wherein for instance non-metal portion 421 surrounds metal portion 430).
With respect to claim 61, Song teaches the mobile device wherein the metal portion is an appearance element of the mobile device (Figure 3, element 430 is visible from the outside (i.e. appearance element)).
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Andujar Linares et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0237151 “Linares”) and Wong et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0338546 “Wong”).
With respect to claim 6, Linares teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1 as shown in the rejection above.
Linares is silent on wherein the first feeding element is separate from the first portion, and a coupling gap is formed between the first feeding element and the first portion.
However, Wong et al. discloses capacitive coupling (Para. [0024]).
In this particular case, providing feeding through capacitive coupling wherein the feeding element is separate from the antenna element is common and well known in the art as evident by Wong et al. in order to provide smoother impedance matching (Para. [0024]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to separate the first feeding element of Andujar Linares et al. from the first portion and form a coupling gap between them based on the teachings of Wong et al. in order to provide capacitive coupling and provide a smoother impedance matching.
Claims 6, 11, 18-20, 35 and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al (US Publication No. 2018/0375973, “Song”).
With respect to claim 6, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 2, however he does not explicitly teach that the second feeding element substantially has a straight-line shape or an N-shape. On the other hand, Song teaches the mobile device wherein a feed element can be substantially straight-line shape (Figure 4, feed line in the antenna element 432).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a straight feed element, as the shape of the feed because selecting a shape of the feed element is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
With respect to claim 11, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, however he does not explicitly teach that the first feeding element substantially having an L-shape or a straight-line shape.
On the other hand, Song teaches the mobile device wherein a feed element can be substantially straight-line shape (Figure 4, feed line in the antenna element 432).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a straight feed element, as the shape of the feed because selecting a shape of the feed element is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
With respect to claim 18, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second portion has a first end and a second end, the first end of the second portion is a second shorting point and the second end of the second portion is adjacent to the first cut point (as illustrated in the annotated figure below). Song however does not teach that the first end of the second portion (the second shorting point) is electrically coupled to the system ground plane, however Song also teaches configuration wherein the metal frame/antenna is electrically coupled to the ground (Figure 4, for instance antennas depicted in section (“D”)).
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Consequently, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to electrically couple the ground as shown in section “D” of figure 4, because placement of the ground connection either parasitically or directly is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
With respect to claim 19, Song further teaches the mobile device, wherein the second feeding element is connected to a second connection point on the second portion, and the second connection point is positioned between the first end and the second end of the second portion (as depicted in the annotated figure below).
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Song however does not explicitly teach the second feeding element being directly electrically connected to a second connection point on the second portion. On the other hand, Song teaches configuration wherein the metal frame/antenna is electrically coupled to the feed element (Figure 4, for instance antennas depicted in section (“D”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to electrically couple the feed element as shown in section “D” of figure 4, because placement of the feed element connecting either parasitically or directly is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
With respect claim 20, Song does not explicitly teach the mobile device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the second feeding element is directly electrically connected to the second end of the second portion. However, in section “C” or “D” of the antenna depicted in Figure 4, the feed element and ground are directly connected to the antenna which could correspond to the second portion of the antenna.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to electrically couple the feed element as shown in sections “C” or “D” of figure 4, because placement of the feed element connecting either parasitically or directly is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
With respect to claims 35 and 48, Song does not explicitly teach that the second metal portion has a T-shape, but he teaches other metal elements of the back cover having T-shape (Figure 3, element 450 (wherein at least parts of that structure form T-shape) and para [0149]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to utilize T-shape for the metal portion, because shape of the respective elements is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 9, 10, 25, 26, 28, 38-40, 51-53 and 63-65 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al (US Publication No. 2018/0375973, “Song”) in view of Yu et al (US Publication No. 2019/0341701 “Yu”) .
With respect to claim 9, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed in claim 8, however he does not explicitly recite the first antenna structure further comprising a tuning element which comprises:
a plurality of matching elements; and a switch element, electrically coupled to a position between the first end and the second end of the first portion, wherein the switch element is configured to select one of the matching elements, such that the first portion is electrically coupled through the selected matching element to the system ground plane.
On the other hand, Yu teaches the antenna wherein the first antenna structure further comprising a tuning element which comprises: a plurality of matching elements (para. [0072], elements S303 and S304); and a switch element (para. [0074], S101, S102 and S103), electrically coupled to a position between the first end and the second end of the first portion (as pictured in the figure 3, the switching/tuning circuit is electrically couped to a feed point which then as taught by Song attached to the antenna element (
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), wherein the switch element is configured to select one of the matching elements, such that the first portion is electrically coupled through the selected matching element to the system ground plane (Abstract and Figure 2 and para. [0010], [0014] and [0006]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to utilize the tuning circuit as taught by Yu, in Song’s antenna to efficiently and precisely adjust the frequency band of a mobile antenna.
With respect to claim 10, Yu further teaches the mobile device a, wherein the matching elements comprise one or more inductors and/or one or more capacitors (para. [0017] and [0072]).
With respect to claims 25, 38, 51 and 63, Song teaches the mobile device wherein, a second feeding element, connected to the second portion, wherein a second antenna structure is formed by the second feeding element and the second portion.
However, Song does not explicitly recite that the second feeding element is electrically connected to the second portion and an RF (Radio Frequency) module, electrically coupled to the first feeding element, so as to excite the first antenna structure.
On the other hand, Song teaches a mobile device wherein feed element is electrically connected to the antenna element (Figure 4, section “D”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to electrically couple the feed element as shown in sections “C” or “D” of figure 4, because placement of the feed element connecting either parasitically or directly is a matter of a design choice and it would be well within the skills of one of ordinary skill in the art.
In addition, Yu teaches circuit for adjusting frequency band of antenna using RF module electrically connected to the feed element (Figure 2, “radio frequency link”, Abstract “an antenna signal main feed-point connected to a radio frequency link”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to connect RF module as taught by Yu to the antenna taught by Song, in order efficiently adjust frequency bandwidth, hence improve antennas functionality.
With respect to claims 26, 40, 53 and 65, Yu further teaches the mobile device, wherein the RF module is further electrically coupled to the second feeding element, so as to excite the second antenna structure (Figure 3, wherein RF module (radio frequency link) and tuning element 232 are electrically connected to antenna feed point 22 and feed point 21).
With respect to claims 28, 39, 52 and 64, Song teaches the mobile device as claimed, wherein the metal frame further has a third cut point, a fourth cut point and a fifth cut point for separating the other antenna elements from the first antenna structure and the second antenna structure (as illustrated in the annotated Figure 4 below).
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Claims 27, 41, 54 and 66 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al (US Publication No. 2018/0375973, “Song”) in view of Yu et al (US Publication No. 2019/0341701 “Yu”) and further in view of Martiskainen et al (US Publication No. 2019/0051992 “Martiskainen”).
With respect to claims 27, 41, 54 and 66, Song does not explicitly disclose the mobile device, wherein the first antenna structure covers a median-frequency band from 1710MHz to 2200MHz and a first high-frequency band from 2300MHz to 2690MHz, and wherein the second antenna structure covers a second high- frequency band from 3400MHz to 3800MHz.
On the other hand, Martiskainen teaches mobile device comprising multiple antennas operating at different frequency bands ranging from approximately 700 MHz to 2.7GHz (para. [0008] and [0022]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cover multiple frequency bands as taught by Martiskainen, in Song’s mobile device, for the purpose of supporting wide range of wireless communication.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA M LIE whose telephone number is (571)272-8445. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 7:30 am - 3:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hetul Patel can be reached on 571-272-4184.
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/ANGELA M LIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
Conferees:
/LUKE S WASSUM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
/H.B.P/
Hetul PatelSupervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3992
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