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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Yanagisawa et al. (US 6369762, hereby referred as Yana).
Regarding claim 1, Yana teaches the following:
an antenna assembly, comprising:
a first radiation branch (element 3a, figures 1);
a second radiation branch (element 3b, figures 1), wherein the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch are at an angle relative to each other (as shown in figure 1); and
a feeding excitation branch (element 2, figures 1), wherein the feeding excitation branch is located between the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch, and the feeding excitation branch comprises a feeding point (element 4, figures 1) configured to receive a feeding signal;
the feeding excitation branch is configured to be electrically coupled with the first radiation branch, to couple the feeding signal to the first radiation branch and provide a first coupled feeding signal fed into the first radiation branch, the feeding excitation branch is further configured to be magnetically coupled with the second radiation branch, to couple the feeding signal to the second radiation branch and provide a second coupled feeding signal fed into the second radiation branch, a phase difference between the first coupled feeding signal and the second coupled feeding signal being 90°, so that the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch have circular polarization radiation characteristics or elliptical polarization radiation characteristics, and the antenna assembly is enabled to support reception and/or transmission of a satellite communication signal (as shown in figures, 1; column 4, lines 60-65; column 5, lines 60-67; column 6, lines 8-21).
Regarding claim 11, Yana as referred in claim 1 teaches the following:
wherein the angle between the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch is greater than 0° and less than 180° (as shown in figure 1).
Regarding claim 12, Yana as referred in claim 11 teaches the following:
wherein the angle between the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch is 90° (as shown in figure 1).
Claims 14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Jiang et al. (CN 111490352, hereby referred as Jiang, cited by the applicant).
Regarding claim 14, Jiang teaches the following:
an electronic device (“a wearable device”), comprising an antenna assembly (figure 1) comprising:
a first radiation branch (element 12, figure 1);
a second radiation branch (element 13, figure 1) at an angle relative to the first radiation branch; and
a feeding excitation branch (element 11, figure 1), wherein the feeding excitation branch is located between the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch, and the feeding excitation branch comprises a feeding point (element 101, figure 1) configured to receive a feeding signal;
the feeding excitation branch is configured to be electrically coupled with the first radiation branch, to couple the feeding signal to the first radiation branch and provide a first coupled feeding signal fed into the first radiation branch, the feeding excitation branch is further configured to be magnetically coupled with the second radiation branch, to couple the feeding signal to the second radiation branch and provide a second coupled feeding signal fed into the second radiation branch, a phase difference between the first coupled feeding signal and the second coupled feeding signal being 90°, so that the first radiation branch and the second radiation branch have circular polarization radiation characteristics or elliptical polarization radiation characteristics, and the antenna assembly is enabled to support reception and/or transmission of a satellite communication signal (as shown in figure 1; “the first radiation arm 12 and the second radiation arm 13 on the electric signal (electric field or current signal) satisfies the amplitude equal. phase difference is 90 degrees, to form two orthogonal modes of resonance, generating circular polarization radiation”).
Regarding claim 19, Jiang as referred in claim 14 teaches the following:
wherein the electronic device further comprises a circuit board (element 100, figure 1), and each of the first radiation branch, the second radiation branch and the feeding excitation branch is provided on the circuit board through an antenna bracket (elements 10/20, as shown in figure 1).
Regarding claim 20, Jiang as referred in claim 14 teaches the following:
wherein at least one antenna assembly (figure 1) is comprised in the electronic device (“a wearable device).
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.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (CN 111490352, hereby referred as Jiang, cited by the applicant) in view of Wang et al. (US 2025/0183518, hereby referred as Wang)
Regarding claim 15, Jiang as referred in claim 14 teaches the electronic device with the exception for the following:
wherein a frame of the electronic device is a metal frame, and the first radiation branch, the second radiation branch, and the feeding excitation branch are metal frame segments formed by providing gaps in the metal frame of the electronic device.
Wang suggests the teachings of wherein a frame of the electronic device is a metal frame (as shown in figure 1), and the first radiation branch (element 303, figure 3), the second radiation branch (element 301, figure 3), and the feeding excitation branch (element 302, figure 3) are metal frame segments formed by providing gaps in the metal frame of the electronic device (as shown in figures 1 and 3). It is also well known in the antenna art that the metal frame of a device could be used as the antenna.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the electronic device of Jiang to have a metal frame, and for the first radiation branch, the second radiation branch, and the feeding excitation branch are metal frame segments formed by providing gaps in the metal frame of the electronic device as suggested by the teachings of Wang and well known in the art in order to incorporate the antenna as the frame which can be used to allow the structural housing to act as the antenna which can save internal space and improve thermal dissipation.
Regarding claim 16, Jiang as modified in claim 15 teaches the following:
wherein the first radiation branch (Jiang, element 12, figure 1) is formed by a part of the metal frame (as explained in claim 15) on a first side of the electronic device, and the second radiation branch (Jiang, element 13, figure 1) is formed by a part of the metal frame (as explained in claim 15) on a second side of the electronic device, the first side and the second side being adjacent to each other (Jiang, as shown in figure 1); and the feeding excitation branch (Jiang, element 11, figure 1) is a metal frame segment (as explained in claim 15) at a top corner between the first side and the second side (Jiang, as shown in figure 1).
Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (CN 111490352, hereby referred as Jiang, cited by the applicant).
Regarding claim 17, Jiang as referred in claim 14 teaches the electronic device with the exception for the following:
wherein a frame of the electronic device is a non-metal frame, and the first radiation branch, the second radiation branch and the feeding excitation branch are metal segments provided at the frame of the electronic device.
However, Jiang does teach a non-metal structure (elements 10a/20a, figure 1) surrounding the device, and that the first radiation branch (element 12, figure 1), the second radiation branch (element 13, figure 1) and the feeding excitation branch (element 13, figure 1) are metal segments provided at the non-metal structure of the electronic device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the non-metal structure of Jiang to be part of a frame of the electronic device, so that radiation branches are placed on the edges of the electronic device which can reduce the amount of interference that may occur with internal components of the electronic device, and allow the radiation branches to radiate further since they would be placed on the edges of the electronic device.
Regarding claim 18, Jiang as modified in claim 17 teaches the following:
wherein the first radiation branch (element 12, figure 1) is a metal segment provided at a part of the frame (element 10a, figure 1) on a first side of the electronic device, and the second radiation branch (element 13, figure 1) is a metal segment provided at a part of the frame (element 20a, figure 1) on a second side of the electronic device, the first side and the second side being adjacent to each other (as shown in figure 1); and the feeding excitation branch (element 11, figure 1) is a metal segment provided at a top corner between the first side and the second side of the electronic device (as shown in figure 1).
Additional Comments
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The various rejections made in the Chinese, European, and International search reports would also apply to the rejected claims above. Ying (US 2006/0220959) and Tsutsumi et al. (US 7420513) could also be used to reject the current independent claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AB SALAM ALKASSIM JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0449. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday.
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/AB SALAM ALKASSIM JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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