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 .
Election/Restrictions
The statement in the original restriction requirement that all independent claims were generic is not accurate in light of the claim language. Claims 1 and 16 are generic only to the spring as inductor group, while independent claim 11 is generic only to the magnetizer-coil group. None of the independent claims reads on both groups.
Claims 1-10, 13-15 and 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/03/2025.
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)(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.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being Ruff (DE102022107300).
Regarding claim 16, Ruff teaches a method of operating a switch device, comprising: pressing at least one spring 9 to adjust a first interval between a first portion (10a, 10b) of the at least one spring and a second portion (11a, 11b) of the at least one spring; generating a switch signal (based on the current of the circuit board and the induction of the spring) having a first current value from the spring to a circuit board 2 when the first interval has a first length (the spring length=9.2mm); and generating the switch signal having a second current value from the spring to the circuit board when the first interval has a second length (the length of the spring when the spring is compressed, 5.2mm), wherein the first current value is different from the second current value, and the first length is different from the second length (different spring lengths produce different inductance values, and the current flows through the spring to the circuit substrate such that different inductance result in different electrical current values detected as the switch signal page 4, paragraphs 4-5).
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 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US. Pat. 5,880,539) in view of Piot (US. Pat. 5,911,627)
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches a switch device, comprising: a magnetizer (34, 32); a conductive structure (21, 22) comprising a plurality of first conductive lines 21 and a plurality of second conductive lines 22, being formed as an inductor with the magnetizer (col. 4, lines 15-40), and configured to generate a switch signal according to the inductor (col. 4, lines 40-50); a slide body 33 configured to move the magnetizer to change the inductor (col. 4, lines 4-10); and a circuit board 2 located between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines, and configured to receive the switch signal (lines 221 detect the switch signal, see Figs. 1-4 and col. 4, line 35-40), as required by claim 11; wherein the magnetizer has a spring shape 32 and is located between the slide body 33 and the conductive structure (21, 22), and the slide body is further configured to press the magnetizer to change the inductor (Fig. 1-4 and col. 4, lines 5-65), as required by claim 12. Chen does not teach the conductive structure being a coil structure with first and second conductive lines and the circuit board located between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines. However, Piot teaches a coil structure having first and second conductive lines (36, 38) and a circuit board 14 located between the plurality of first conductive lines and the plurality of second conductive lines (Fig. 2 col. 4, lines 5-15). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Piot in the switch device of Chen to improve inductive sensing resolution.
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:
Conclusion
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/AHMED M SAEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833