Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent No. 8,738,103

This analysis details the prior art references cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent No. 8,738,103. Each reference is examined for its potential to anticipate the patent's claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102, which pertains to novelty and requires that a single prior art reference disclose every element of a claimed invention.

U.S. Patent Documents

• U.S. Patent No. 6,339,401 B1: "Antenna for a radio communication apparatus"

  • Publication Date: January 15, 2002
  • Filing Date: June 8, 1999
  • Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
  • Description: This patent describes a dual-band planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) designed for mobile communication devices. The antenna structure includes a parasitic element to create a second resonant frequency, enabling operation in two frequency bands, such as the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands used by GSM.
  • Potential Anticipation: This reference is relevant to the general concept of a multi-band internal antenna for a mobile device. However, it does not disclose a "multifunction wireless device" with two movable bodies (e.g., clamshell, slider) as required by claim 1. Furthermore, it does not describe the specific antenna geometry defined by the complexity factors F21 and F32, a key limitation in all independent claims (1, 15, and 28) of the '103 patent. Therefore, it is unlikely to anticipate any of the independent claims.

• U.S. Patent No. 6,697,019 B2: "Antenna device and radio apparatus using the same"

  • Publication Date: February 24, 2004
  • Filing Date: October 25, 2002
  • Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
  • Description: This patent discloses a compact, surface-mounted antenna for use in portable radio equipment. The design focuses on miniaturization and achieving multi-band performance through the use of a meandering conductor on a dielectric substrate.
  • Potential Anticipation: While this patent addresses compact, multi-band antennas for portable devices, it does not teach the specific structural configuration of a device with two relatively movable bodies as recited in claim 1. It also fails to disclose or suggest the geometric complexity of the antenna contour as defined by the F21 and F32 parameters required by claims 1, 15, and 28.

• U.S. Patent No. 6,950,068 B2: "Planar antenna"

  • Publication Date: September 27, 2005
  • Filing Date: April 30, 2003
  • Assignee: Wistron NeWeb Corp.
  • Description: This patent details a planar antenna with multiple branches or arms designed to operate in different frequency bands, such as those used for WLAN (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth. The design aims to achieve multi-band functionality within a small footprint.
  • Potential Anticipation: This reference describes a multi-band antenna but does not disclose a multifunction wireless device with the specific mechanical configurations (clamshell, slide, twist) outlined in claim 1. More importantly, there is no disclosure or motivation to design an antenna according to the specific complexity factors F21 and F32 that are central to the novelty of the claims in the '103 patent.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,015,874 B2: "Antenna structure for mobile communication terminal"

  • Publication Date: March 21, 2006
  • Filing Date: December 9, 2003
  • Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
  • Description: This patent describes an internal antenna for a mobile phone, specifically a folder-type (clamshell) phone. The antenna is designed to be placed in the hinge portion or the main body of the phone and is configured to achieve wideband characteristics.
  • Potential Anticipation: This reference is highly relevant as it discloses an antenna for a multi-body mobile device, specifically a clamshell type, which is one of the configurations mentioned in claim 1. However, a key distinguishing feature of the '103 patent is the specific definition of the antenna's shape through the complexity factors F21 and F32. The '874 patent does not describe or suggest quantifying antenna complexity in this manner, nor does it inherently disclose an antenna that would meet the claimed numerical ranges for F21 and F32. Therefore, while it describes the device's physical form, it does not appear to anticipate the specific antenna structure required by claims 1, 15, and 28.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,113,129 B2: "Compact multi-band antenna"

  • Publication Date: September 26, 2006
  • Filing Date: May 19, 2004
  • Assignee: Ethertronics, Inc.
  • Description: This patent discloses a compact, multi-band antenna using Isolated Magnetic Dipole (IMD) technology. The antenna element is a three-dimensional structure designed to be small yet efficient across multiple frequency bands, suitable for devices like mobile phones and PDAs.
  • Potential Anticipation: The focus of this patent is on a specific type of antenna technology (IMD) to achieve miniaturization and multi-band performance. It does not describe the specific physical form factor of a two-part movable device as required by claim 1. Crucially, it does not teach or suggest the use of the claimed complexity factors F21 and F32 to define the antenna's geometry.

• U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0206141 A1: "Multiband Antenna for a Wireless Handset"

  • Publication Date: November 6, 2003
  • Filing Date: May 3, 2002
  • Applicant: Kyocera Wireless Corp.
  • Description: This application describes a multi-band internal antenna for a wireless handset. The antenna includes multiple radiating elements or branches, each tuned to a different frequency band (e.g., cellular, PCS, GPS).
  • Potential Anticipation: This document discloses a multi-band antenna for a generic "wireless handset" without specifying a multi-body structure as required by claim 1. It also lacks any disclosure or suggestion of the geometric complexity factors (F21 and F32) that are a critical limitation in all independent claims of the '103 patent.

Foreign Patent Documents

• WO 2005/096431 A1: "Internal Antenna"
  • Publication Date: October 13, 2005
  • Filing Date: March 24, 2005
  • Applicant: Nokia Corporation
  • Description: This international application describes an internal antenna for a mobile communication device. The design includes a radiating element and a ground plane, with specific configurations of slots and arms to achieve multi-band operation.
  • Potential Anticipation: This reference teaches the design of multi-band internal antennas but, like the U.S. patents cited, it does not disclose the specific combination of a multi-body device structure (as in claim 1) with an antenna defined by the particular complexity factors (F21 and F32) required by claims 1, 15, and 28 of the '103 patent.

Conclusion

Based on a review of the prior art cited during the examination of U.S. Patent No. 8,738,103, none of the references appear to fully anticipate the independent claims. While some references, such as U.S. Patent No. 7,015,874, disclose elements of the claimed device (e.g., a clamshell phone with an internal antenna), they fail to teach the specific, mathematically-defined geometric complexity of the antenna contour (the F21 and F32 factors). This novel characterization of the antenna's shape appears to be the key distinguishing feature that allowed the claims of the '103 patent to be granted over the cited prior art. Therefore, an argument of anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 against claims 1, 15, or 28 based on these references alone would likely be unsuccessful. A more thorough analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (obviousness) would be required to determine if a combination of these references would render the claims obvious.