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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-3, 11-12, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li 20210066797, made of record in IDS dated 18 April 2025), hereinafter known as Li.
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Li discloses (Figs. 1-11) an electronic device (10) comprising: a metal frame (20, 22,23,24); a circuit board (30); at least one wireless communication circuit (processor, [0034]) on the circuit board; a near field communication (NFC) communication circuit (21) on the circuit board; a first switch circuit (251b); and a second switch circuit (253b), wherein the metal frame comprises a conductive portion, a first connection portion (23) formed from the conductive portion, a second connection portion (24)( formed from the conductive portion, and a ground portion (22) formed from the conductive portion, wherein the ground portion is between the first connection portion and the second connection portion (see Figs. 6-7), wherein the first switch is configured to selectively connect the first connection portion to the at least one wireless communication circuit or the NFC communication circuit (see Figs. 6-7), wherein the second switch is configured to selectively connect the second connection portion to the at least one wireless communication circuit or the NFC communication circuit (see Figs. 6-7), and wherein, in a state that the NFC communication circuit is electrically connected to the first connection portion and the second connection portion, a positive signal is fed to the first connection portion and a negative signal is fed to the second connection portion (see Figs. 6-7, ports 211 and 212 labeled positive and negative).
Regarding claim 2, Li further discloses (Figs. 1-11) wherein the conductive portion is spaced apart from a support member of the metal frame, and wherein the ground portion connects the conductive portion and the support member ([0036]).
Regarding claim 3, Li further discloses (Figs. 1-11) wherein a first feed portion (221) of the support member is electrically connected to the first connection portion, and wherein a second feed portion (222) of the support member is electrically connected to the second connection portion (see Figs. 6-7).
Regarding claim 11, Li further discloses (Figs. 1-11) at least one processor on the circuit board ([0034]), wherein, in a state that the at least one processor operates in an NFC mode, the first switch circuit and the second switch circuit are electrically connected to the NFC communication circuit, and wherein the NFC communication circuit is configured to generate the positive signal and the negative signal ([0067]).
Regarding claim 12, Li further discloses (Figs. 1-11) wherein the conductive portion comprises: a first conductive portion (another of 23) extending, in a direction, from the ground portion toward the first connection portion (see Figs. 6-7); and a second conductive portion (another of 24) extending, in a direction, from the ground portion toward the second connection portion (see Figs. 6-7), wherein, in a state that the NFC communication circuit is electrically connected to the first connection portion and the second connection portion of the metal frame, a direction of a first current flowing through the first conductive portion is the same as a direction of a second current flowing through the second conductive portion, and wherein, in accordance with the positive signal and the negative signal, a first potential of the first conductive portion is higher than a second potential of the second conductive portion ([0040]).
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li.
Regarding claims 4, Li teaches the limitations of claims 2 and 3 as arranged, but does not teach non-NFC communication circuits.
In an alternative embodiment, Li teaches (Figs. 8-9) wherein the at least one wireless communication circuit comprises a first non-NFC communication circuit (261) and a second non- NFC communication circuit (262).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art connect selectively both the first and second feed portion to either of the first non-NFC communication circuit or the NFC communication circuit through the first and second switch circuits of the embodiment of Figures 6-7 of Li since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007)
Regarding claims 6 and 7, Li teaches the limitations of claim 1, but does not teach further details of the location of the conductive portion.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the conductive portion on either a side of the electronic device on which a power key or a volume key is located or on an upper end of the electronic device since it has been held that choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007)
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Han et al. 20150171519), hereinafter known as Han.
Regarding claim 14, Li teaches the limitations of claim 1, but does not teach a C-clip.
Han teaches wherein the first connection portion is electrically connected to the circuit board via a C-clip, and wherein the second connection portion is electrically connected to the circuit board via the C-clip ([0103]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of invention to one of ordinary skill in the art use a C-clip to connect the first and second connection portions to the circuit board since it has been held that the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007) C-clips are well known to a skilled artisan for providing a simple galvanic connection between conductive elements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 8-10, and 13 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jang et al. (U.S. Patent Application No. 20230046925) teaches an antenna structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL MUNOZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1957. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dimary Lopez can be reached at 571-270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL MUNOZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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