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 § 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(s) 1, 2, 5-10, 12-15, 17-18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pribisic et al. (US 2018/0367139; hereinafter Pribisic) in view of Min et al. (US 2017/0188787; hereinafter Min).
Regarding claim 1:
Pribisic discloses vehicle with a user interface (20), the user interface (20) comprising:
a display (see Fig. 5; indicia 456 and 258), wherein the display is an LCD and/or a touch display and/or a 7-segment display (see Figs. 7-9 and paragraph [0067]; the keypad assembly 224 includes a display that is a touch display; the user can touch the touch surface where the indicia are located),
a switch element (see Fig. 7; proximity sensor 264 and capacitive electrode 261) associated to said display (see Fig. 7), the switch element comprising a capacitive sensing element (see Fig. 7; capacitive electrode 261 and paragraph [0069]), wherein the capacitive sensing element is a PCB (see Fig. 6-7 and paragraph [0069]; "A plurality of proximity sensors 264 (schematically shown in FIG. 7) are integrated into the front side 250 of the PCB 248") defining a sensing surface (see Fig. 7; front side 250), wherein a capacitive sensing circuit is provided on the PCB (see Fig. 6; processing unit 228), and
a control unit (see Fig. 8; controller unit 230) connected to said display and to said capacitive sensing circuit (see Figs. 5-8), configured to control said vehicle and/or said display in function of a signal received from said capacitive sensing circuit after a user interaction on the capacitive sensing element (see paragraph [0076]; "The sequence of selection may also further include the selection of the electrode 261 associated with indicia 258, or the selection of electrode 261 associated with the indicia 258 may be performed alone to control the vehicle operation, such as locking the latch 234"),
wherein the PCB defines a space, and said display is arranged within said space such that the PCB at least partially surrounds the display (see Figs. 6, 8-9; the PCB 248 includes cutouts 272 which defines a space where the display is located).
Pribisic does not discloses a household appliance, and the capacitive sensing circuit configured to control said household appliance.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Min discloses a household appliance with a user interface (see Fig. 1; appliance 1 and interface 22), the user interface comprising:
a capacitive sensing circuit (see Fig. 5; touch sensors 62), wherein the capacitive sensing circuit is configured to control said household appliance (see paragraphs [0013]-[0015]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Pribisic and Min such that the capacitive sensing circuit is configured to control said household appliance. The combination would have yielded a predictable result of improve detection sensitivity and improve image of the indicia for a household appliance (see Pribisic, paragraph [0025]).
Regarding claim 2:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the user interface, further comprising a display carrier element (see Fig. 5; frame 287), whereby said
display is formed by and/or connected to the display carrier element (see Figs. 5, 9A and paragraph [0083]), and said PCB is arranged on a display carrier element (see Fig. 5 and 9A).
Regarding claim 5:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 2. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said display and/or said PCB are mechanically connected to said display carrier element (see Figs. 5, 9A and paragraphs [0066] and [0083]).
Regarding claim 6:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, comprising a display main board to which said display and said PCB are connected (see Fig. 5A and paragraph [0066]; the external systems read on display main board).
Regarding claim 7:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 6. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said display main board comprises at least one additional switch element and/or at least one additional display (see Fig. 4; the external systems within the vehicle inherently includes at least one additional switch element and at least one addition display).
Regarding claim 8:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, comprising light element for illuminating said display (see Fig. 6; light emitting device 270).
Regarding claim 9:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said light elements are associated with openings provided on a display carrier element (see Figs. 5-6 and 9A), said openings being configured to see the light beams of said light elements from the front side of said user interface (see Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 10:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said openings on said display carrier element define the display (see Fig. 9A; the opening 272 define the display indicia), which comprise a digit display and is visible from the front of said user interface (see Fig. 7).
Pribisic does not disclose the digit display is a 7-segment display. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use any kind of display in order to display the information, where the claimed differences involved to the substitution of interchangeable or replaceable equivalents and the reason for the selection of one equivalent for another was not to solve an existent problem, such substitution has been judicially determined to have been obvious. In re Ruff, 118, USPQ, 343 (CCPA 1958). This supporting is based on a recognition that the claimed difference exist not a result of an attempt by applicant to solve a problem but merely amounts to selection of expedients known to the artisan of ordinary skill as design choices.
Regarding claim 12:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 8. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said respective light elements are built as LEDs (see paragraph [0075]).
Regarding claim 13:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further disclose the interface, whereby said display is the LCD and/or touch display (see Fig. 7 and paragraph [0067]; the display is a touch display).
Regarding claim 14:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said PCB and said display are at least partially covered by an at least partially transparent film (see Fig. 5; applique 260 is a semi-transparent film; see paragraph [0068]).
Regarding claim 15:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby said PCB surrounds at least three sides of said display (see Figs. 5-8; the PCB includes cutouts 272, which surrounds at least three sides).
Regarding claim 17:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic does not disclose the interface, whereby said display is a 7-segment display.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use any kind of display in order to display the information, where the claimed differences involved to the substitution of interchangeable or replaceable equivalents and the reason for the selection of one equivalent for another was not to solve an existent problem, such substitution has been judicially determined to have been obvious. In re Ruff, 118, USPQ, 343 (CCPA 1958). This supporting is based on a recognition that the claimed difference exist not a result of an attempt by applicant to solve a problem but merely amounts to selection of expedients known to the artisan of ordinary skill as design choices.
Regarding claim 18:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface further comprising a second capacitive sensing element (see Fig. 7; there are plurality of sensing elements 261).
Regarding claim 20:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic further discloses the interface, whereby the sensing surface of the PCB is flush with a surface of the display (see Fig. 8; the sensing surface of the proximity sensor 264 is flush with the surface of the indicia 256, 258).
Claim(s) 11 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pribisic in view of Min as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 10,921,048; hereinafter Kim).
Regarding claim 11:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 2. Pribisic and Min do not disclose the interface, comprising a secondary board, whereby said secondary board is at least partially covered by / at least partially arranged inside said display carrier element.
However, in the same field endeavor, Kim discloses a household appliance with a user interface, comprising a secondary board, whereby said secondary board is at least partially covered by / at least partially arranged inside said display carrier element (see Fig. 5; PCB 102 is a secondary board which is covered or arranged inside display carrier element 70/80).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Pribisic, Min and Kim such that the appliance, comprising a secondary board, whereby said secondary board is at least partially covered by / at least partially arranged inside said display carrier element. The combination would have yielded a predictable result of providing display control of the display elements through the secondary board.
Regarding claim 19:
Pribisic and Min disclose all the features in claim 1. Pribisic and Min do not disclose the household appliance is a refrigerating appliance or refrigerating/freezing appliance.
However, Kim discloses a household appliance, wherein the household appliance is a refrigerating appliance or refrigerating/freezing appliance (see Fig. 1).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Pribisic and Kim such that the household appliance is a refrigerating appliance or refrigerating/freezing appliance. The combination would have yielded a predictable result of improve detection sensitivity and improve image of the indicia for a refrigerating appliance or refrigerating/freezing appliance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 are allowed.
In regards to claim 3, none of the reference of record alone or in combination discloses or suggests a household appliance with a user interface, the user interface comprising:
a display,
a display carrier element, whereby said display is formed by and/or connected to the display carrier element,
a switch element associated to said display, the switch element comprising a capacitive sensing element, wherein the capacitive sensing element is a PCB defining a sensing surface, wherein a capacitive sensing circuit is provided on the PCB, and
a control unit connected to said display and to said capacitive sensing circuit, configured to control said household appliance and/or said display in function of a signal received from said capacitive sensing circuit after a user interaction on the capacitive sensing element,
wherein said display carrier element comprises at least one a recess, wherein the PCB is placed in said recess, and
wherein the PCB defines a space, and said display is arranged within said space such that the PCB at least partially surrounds the display.
Claim 4 depends from claim 3. Accordingly, claims 3-4 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that “Pribisic fails to disclose or suggests that its display 256, 258 (as construed in the Office action) is an LCD and/or a touch display and/or a 7-segment display”. However, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Pribisic teaches a keypad assembly that includes multiple indicia (display elements), which user can touch the indicia region to select a function. As such, based on the broadest reasonable interpretation, the touch surface where the indicia are located is a touch display. Claim 1 specifies that the display can be “LCD and/or a touch display and/or a 7-segment display”. According to the broadest reasonable interpretation, Pribisic discloses at least a touch display because keypad assembly includes a least a display region where user can touch and input a function.
For at least the reasons above, claims 1, 2, 5-15, and 17-20 are not patentable, and the rejections are maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lakshminarayanan et al. (US 2012/0075233) discloses a device display with touch sensor where sensor electrodes are disposed around the display aperture of the circuit board.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIXI CHOW SIMPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7571. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00am-3:00pm.
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/LIXI C SIMPSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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