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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I Species A in the reply filed on 12/18/2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 6-18 and 23-26 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected groups and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/18/2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-3 and 19-22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in line 2 of Claim 2, insert --at least one—before both instances of “diode”;
in line 1 of Claim 19, insert --,-- after “claim 1”;
in line 1 of Claim 20, insert --,-- after “claim 19”;
in line 1 of Claim 21, insert --,-- after “claim 20”;
in line 1 of Claim 22,
insert --,-- after “claim 2”,
delete “reflec-tive” and insert --reflective--;
in line 2 of Claim 22, insert --the-- before “UV-C light”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3, 5 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In Claim 3, it is not clear how “the body is substantially transparent to the UV-C light” in the parent claim when the claim indicates that the bottom/opposing surface (i.e. in claim 2) as well as “a plurality of sides …are configured to be reflective of the UV-C light” (i.e. not transparent).
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the keyboard" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 22 recites the limitation "the reflec-tive surfaces" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
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) 1-2, 4-5 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii (JP2011143994) or Hootsmans (WO2006041431) in view of Baarman (WO2019190967) and Fan (20110100790).
As to Claims 1-2 and 19-21, Ishii (‘994) discloses a hygienic interface (35) for electronic devices (30) (see Figures 1 and 6), comprising:
a keypad (10) (see Figures 1 and 6);
at least one key (6; 36, 37) operatively connected to the keypad (10) (see Figures 1 and 6), wherein the at least one key (6; 36, 37) has a body (12, 13, 15/15a, 20, 19) defined by a contact surface (12) and an opposing surface (20, 19) (see Figures 3-5); and
at least one diode (22) positioned in the body (12, 13, 15/15a, 20, 19) and configured to emit a UV light (see entire document, particularly Figures 3-5; see English translation, p. 3 lines 21-22, 28-31 and 37), wherein the contact surface (12) is transmissive and capable of being substantially transparent to the UV light (see Figure 5; English translation, particularly p. 2 – 2nd - 3rd lines from the bottom, p. 3 lines 32-36, p. 4 lines 8-11 and 14-20, where translucent/non-translucent material is deemed to teach a transmissive material particularly in view of teaching where the UV light is required to travel through 12 to reach fluorescent material or coating 25 containing the fluorescent material at the outer surface of 12 for irradiation and activation of the fluorescent material), and
wherein the body (12, 13, 15/15a, 20, 19) has a first zone located between the at least one diode (22) and the contact surface (12) and a second zone (i.e. where 20 is located) located between the at least one diode (22) and the opposing surface (i.e. interior surface of 19), wherein the contact surface (12) is transmissive and capable of being substantially transparent to the UV light (see entire document, particularly Figures 3 and 5, p. 3 lines 32-36, p. 4 lines 8-9, 14-15 and 18-20).
Hootsmans (‘431) discloses a hygiene interface for electronic devices, comprising:
a keypad (20; 20’) (see entire document, particularly Figures 1-2, p. 3 lines 22-27);
at least one key (26; 22, 24) operatively connected to the keypad (see entire document, particularly Figures 1-2), wherein the at least one key (26) has a body defined by a contact surface (28) and an opposing surface (i.e. i.e. the wall of structure located behind 20’/20) (see Figure 3, p. 4 lines 8-11); and
at least one radiation source (32) positioned in the hygiene interface (see Figure 3, p. 7 lines 4-5) configured to emit a UV light (34) (see entire document, particularly Figure 3, p. 4 lines 17-18), wherein the body is transmissive and capable of being substantially transparent to the ultraviolet light (34) (see entire document, particularly Figure 3, p. 4 lines 20-23 where the material which allows UV light to travel through 26 to reach the coating 30 at the outer surface of 26/28 for irradiation and activation of the material therein which intrinsically traches a transmissive material), and
wherein the body (26) has a first zone located between the at least one radiation source (32) and the contact surface (28, 30) and a second zone located between the at least one radiation source (32) and the opposing surface (i.e. i.e. the wall of structure located behind 20’/20), wherein the contact surface (28, 30) is transmissive and capable of being substantially transparent to the UV light (see entire document, particularly Figures 3 and 5, p. 3 lines 32-36, p. 4 lines 8-9, 14-15 and 18-20).
Neither Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431) appears to specifically teach that the at least one diode/radiation source is at least one diode configured to emit a UV-C light, or that the body is substantially transparent to the UV-C light, nor that the opposing surface is reflective to the UV-C light.
As to the limitations that the at least one diode is configured to emit UV-C light and that the opposing surface is reflective to the UV-C light, it was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide at least one diode configured to emit UV-C light and a reflective surface behind the at least one diode in a hygiene interface. Baarman (‘967) discloses a hygiene interface for electronic devices (see entire document, particularly Figures 5, 25-26, 29 and 33-37, p. 22 [0076]-[0077]), comprising:
an input device including a keypad (150; 200; 110; 110’; 300; 400);
at least one touchpoint/key (152A, 152B; 212; i.e. keys on 118; 304; 402) operatively connected to the input device/key (150; 200; 110; 110’; 300; 400) (see Figures 25-26 and 35-37), wherein the at least one touchpoint/key (152A, 152B; 212; i.e. keys on 118; 304; 402) has a body (154; 202, 204) defined by a contact surface (i.e. top surface of 154/202, top surface of keys of 118/304 /402) and an opposing surface (204, 208, 210 and/or UV reflector – see p. 59 [0147] – last 3 lines); and
at least one light source (156; 214) capable of being at least one LED (122; 308; 412) positioned in the body (i.e. when the body 202 is closed with 204 - see Figures 34-35) and configured to emit a UV-C light (see entire document, particularly Figures 29 and 35-36, Abstract – line 6, p. 22 [0081]), wherein the body (202, 204) is transmissive to the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly Abstract – lines 5-7, pp. 20-21 [0073] and [0074] – particularly line 2, p. 58 [0147] – lines 4-5),
wherein the body (202) has a first zone located between the at least one light source (214) and the contact surface (i.e. top surface of 202) and a second zone (i.e. space between 214 and 204, 208, 210 and/or UV reflector – see p. 59 [0147] – last 3 lines) located between the at least one light source (214) and the opposing surface (204. 208, 210 and/or UV reflector – see p. 59 [0147] – last 3 lines) (see Figure 35), wherein the contact surface (i.e. top surface of 202) is transmissive to the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly pp. 20-21 [0073] and [0074] – particularly line 2, p. 58 [0147] – lines 4-5) and the opposing surface (208, 210; and/or UV reflector – see p. 59 [0147] – last 3 lines) is reflective to the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly p. 59 [0147] – last 5 lines),
in order to provide and reflect UV light toward the desired regions of the contact surface so as to disinfect the contact surface and reduce spread of infections and breakdown of material of the interface as well as to ensure safety of users’ eyes and contact (see entire document, particularly Abstract, p. 20 [0070]-[0073], p. 22 [0081], p. 59 [0147] – last 4 lines).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide at least one UV-C light emitting diode and a reflective opposing surface in the hygiene interface of Ishii or Hootsmans as a known configuration and components in order to emit and reflect UV-C light/energy upwardly toward/into the contact surface so as to kill bacteria and allow sterilization of that surface as shown by Baarman.
As to the limitation that the body is substantially transparent, it was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a body of at least one key/button that is transparent. Fan (‘790) discloses a hygiene interface for electronic devices (i.e. elevator control – see p. 1 [0004]), comprising:
an input device/keypad (i.e. elevator control – see p. 1 [0004]);
at least one key (10) operatively connected to the input device (see entire document, particularly Figures 1-3, p. 1 [0008] – lines 1-2), wherein the at least one key (10) has a body defined by a contact surface (15, 134) and an opposing surface (132) (see Figures 1-3); and
at least one diode (12) positioned in the body (see Figures 1-3) and configured to emit a UV-C light (see entire document, particularly p. 1 [0012] – lines 1-2 and 7-8), wherein the body/contact surface (i.e. as the housing/exterior/shell/walls of 10) is transparent to the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly p. 1 [0004] and [0008] – last 2 lines),
wherein the body absorbs/capable of absorbing less than 15%, or less than 10%, or less than 5%, of the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly Figure 3, p. 1 [0008] – last 2 lines, i.e. where “transparent material” intrinsically indicates a very high percentage, such as 100%, transparency and transmission with minimal, if any, absorption),
in order to irradiate the exterior contact surface (15) (see Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a transparent body for at least one key/button which absorbs less than 15%, or less than 10%, or less than 5%, of the UV-C light in the hygiene interface of Ishii or Hootsmans as modified by Baarman as a known alternate configuration in order to irradiate surfaces of at least one key with the UV-C light as shown by Fan.
As to Claim 4, Baarman (‘967) discloses that the hygienic interface (see entire document, particularly Figures 5, 25-26, 29 and 33-37, p. 22 [0076]-[0077]) further comprises a power source (32) and a controller (30, 36) configured to power and control the hygienic interface (see entire document, particularly Figure 5).
As to Claim 5, Baarman (‘967) discloses that the hygienic interface (see entire document, particularly Figures 5, 25-26, 29 and 33-37, p. 22 [0076]-[0077]) further comprises a motion detector (24) configured to detect motion of a body proximate to the keypad (see entire document, particularly Figure 5, p. 28 [0094] – lines 8-14).
As to Claim 22, Baarman (‘967) discloses that the reflective surface (i.e. circuit board - 208, 210) is capable of reflecting at least 50% of the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly p. 58 [0146] – line 6, p. 59 [0147] – last 5 lines where aluminum reflector is well known to reflect a high reflectivity such as over 90% of UV light).
Thus, Claims 1-2, 4-5, and 19-22 would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103 over the combined teachings of Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (’967), and Fan (‘790).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii (JP2011143994) or Hootsmans (WO2006041431) in view of Baarman (WO2019190967) and Fan (20110100790) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Lee (KR100994885).
Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (‘967), and Fan (‘790) are relied upon for disclosure described in the rejection of claim 2 under 35 U.S.C. 103.
While, for example, Ishii (‘994) discloses that the contact surface (12) and the opposing surface (20 and interior surface of 19) define a top and a bottom of the body (10, 11, 12, 13, 19). respectively, of the at least one key (6, 36, 37) (see Figures 3-5), and wherein the body (10, 11, 12, 13, 15) is further defined by a plurality of sides (13) (see Figures 2-5), none of Ishii (‘994), Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (‘967) and Fan (‘790) appears to specifically that the plurality of sides are configured to be reflective of the UV-C light.
It was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a body of a key is further defined by a plurality of sides which are configured to be reflective of UV-C light. Lee (‘885) discloses a hygienic interface for electronic devices (see Figures 1a-3), comprising:
at least one key (100; 200; 300) having a body (10, 20, 40) defined by a contact surface (40) and an opposing surface (10); and
at least one diode (30) positioned in the body and configured to emit a UV-C light (see English translation, p. 3 lines 22-25),
wherein the contact surface (40) and the opposing surface (10) define a top and a bottom of the body (10, 20, 40). respectively, of the at least one key (100; 200; 300) (see Figures 1a-3), and wherein the body (10, 20, 40) is further defined by a plurality of sides (20) that are configured to be reflective of the UV-C light (via 22 - see Figures 1b-3; English translation, p. 3 – 6th – 11th lines from the bottom),
in order to send ultraviolet rays onto only the contact surface to sterilize bacteria transferred from a user’s finger (see English translation, p. 3 – 6th – 18th lines from the bottom, p. 4 lines 11-12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the plurality of sides that are reflective of the UV-C light in the hygiene interface of Ishii or Hootsmans as modified by Baarman and Fan as a known alternate configuration in order to direct ultraviolet light only to top contact surface so as to sterilize the contact surface as shown by Lee.
Thus, Claim 3 would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103 over the combined teachings of Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (’967), Fan (‘790), and Lee (‘885).
In the event that Baarman (‘967) is deemed to inadequately disclose that the motion detector is configured to detect motion of a body, the following rejection will apply.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii (JP2011143994) or Hootsmans (WO2006041431) in view of Baarman (WO2019190967) and Fan (20110100790), as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Nguyen (20160136313).
Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (’967), and Fan (‘790) are relied upon for disclosure described in the rejection of claim 4 under 35 U.S.C. 103.
Neither Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431) or Baarman (’967) nor Fan (‘790) appears to specifically teach that the hygiene interface further comprises a motion detector configured to detect motion of a body proximate the keypad.
It was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a motion detector with a hygiene interface. Nguyen (‘313) discloses a hygienic interface (100) for electronic devices (600) (see Figures 1-5), comprising:
a keypad (see Figures 1 and 5);
at least one key (108) operatively connected to the keypad (see Figure 1), wherein the at least one key (108) has a body defined by a contact surface (i.e. top/touch surface of 108) and an opposing surface (i.e. surface on which 108 is located in 102/103) (see Figures 3-5);
at least one diode (142; 161) positioned in the hygiene interface (see Figure 2) and configured to emit a UV-C light (see entire document, particularly Abstract, p. 2 [0023]-[0024]), wherein the body (i.e. housing/exterior of 108) is substantially transparent to the UV-C light (see entire document, particularly p. 2 [0024] – last 3 lines);
a power source (132, 130, 131) and a controller (140) configured to power and control the hygienic interface (100) (see entire document, particularly Figure 2, p. 4 [0044]-[0047], p. 5 [0053]-[0054]); and
a motion detector (124, 125, 126, 128, 129) configured to detect motion of a body proximate the keypad (see entire document, particularly p. 4 [0039]-[0040] and [0042]),
in order to irradiate and sterilize the hygiene interface when no person is near the hygiene interface to ensure safety of one or more persons (see entire document, particularly Abstract, p. 2 [0023]-[0028], pp. 5-6 [0059] – 4th – 7th lines from the bottom).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a motion detector in the hygiene interface of Ishii or Hootsmans modified by Baarman and Fan as a known additional component in order to irradiate and sterilize surfaces via the at least one key only when no person is present near the hygiene interface so as to ensure safety of any bystanders as shown by Nguyen.
Thus, Claim 5 would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103 over the combined teachings of Ishii (‘994) or Hootsmans (‘431), Baarman (’967), Fan (‘790), and Nguyen (‘313).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references relate either to the field of the invention or subject matter of the invention, but are not relied upon in the rejection of record: 20060188389 (mobile phone with UV-C light sources), CN108766818 (a keyboard/keypad with a build-it light source), DE19654109 (a key with a UV light source within a non-transparent body/housing), KR20070035281 (a keypad with UV LEDs for producing visible light via phosphor), 9974875, 20210353796, 20240238466, 20220023465/20220023468, WO2021244804, WO2021142047 (an external keypad UV sterilizer); 20200215213 and 20210000991 (an external user interface UV sterilizer); 20160271280 (a keypad with UV LEDs located at a side of the keys), DE112004002960 (an elevator keypad with buttons and an ultraviolet light source equivalent to WO2006041431), KR20070096431 and KR20110114358 (a keypad of a mobile phone with ultraviolet light sources).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINA M YOO whose telephone number is (571)272-6690. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/REGINA M YOO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1758