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
Claim 9 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 11/05/2025.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because figures 3 and 5 do not comply with 37 CFR 1.84.
Drawings must be black and white; grayscale, color, or black and white photographs are not ordinarily
Permitted, solid black lines must be used for drawings.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 7-8 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.
Claim 7 recites “the specific upper electrode” without proper antecedent basis
Dependent claims are likewise rejected
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akai (JP 2021164395 A) in view of Minseok (KR 101665191 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Akai teaches a multi-use gel sensor (abstract) structure applied with haptic technology (see pg. 12. paragraph 7) the structure comprising an upper electrode having elasticity (pg. 1, paragraph 3); a lower electrode positioned under the upper electrode and having elasticity (pg. 1, paragraph 3); and a polymer layer interposed between the upper electrode and the lower electrode (pg. 1, paragraph 3), wherein the structure is configured to recognize a pressing form, a pressing direction, and a pressing degree of external force applied to the upper electrode (structure is capable of this).
Further Akai does not specifically disclose the use as an artificial skin or specifically disclose the sensing details. Minseok teaches a senor structure (abstract) that is specifically used as an artificial skin structure applied with haptic technology (abstract) wherein the artificial skin structure is configured to recognize a pressing form, a pressing direction, and a pressing degree of external force (for example see page 2, paragraph 7-10, pressing form=shear force, pressing direction= vertical or pressure angle, pressing degree= degree of sliding) applied to the upper electrode (pg. 4, paragraph 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further apply the teachings of use in sensing pressure for skin, as taught by Minseok, to the sensing device with a wide variety of uses, as taught by Akai, in order to develop a skin sensor that senses the tactile sense in a manner that the human body senses the tactile sense by imitating the actual skin structure of a person (Minseok: pg. 2, paragraph 10).
Regarding claim 3, Akai further teaches wherein a transparent PVC gel material is applied to the polymer layer (pg. 1, paragraph 3, note the material is the same as the instant application so the properties of the gel can be the same, such as being transparent, which is common for pvc gels).
Regarding claim 4, Akai further teaches the electrodes conducting current (for example see pg. 2 paragraph 10 - pg. 3, paragraph 1).
Akai does not specifically disclose wherein each of the upper electrode and the lower electrode is electrically connected with an electric wire. Minseok teaches a senor structure (abstract) wherein each of the upper electrode and the lower electrode is electrically connected with an electric wire for conducting current (pg. 12, paragraph 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of using wire to conduct electrode current as taught by Minseok, to the device, as taught by Akai, because it would be obvious to try choosing from a finite number of identified and predictable solutions, such as conducting through a wire, with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 6, Akai does not specifically disclose wherein force are recognized based on a resistance change. Minseok teaches a senor structure (abstract) wherein the pressing form, the pressing direction, and the pressing degree of the external force (for example see page 2, paragraph 7-10, pressing form=shear force, pressing direction= vertical or pressure angle, pressing degree= degree of sliding) are recognized based on a resistance change value between the upper electrode and the lower electrode due to external force applied to the upper electrode (pg. 4, paragraph 12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of resistance sensors as taught by Minseok, to the device, as taught by Akai, because it would be obvious to try choosing from a finite number of identified sensor types with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 7, Akai further teaches wherein a plurality of upper electrodes and a plurality of lower electrodes are arranged with the polymer layer having a predetermined area interposed therebetween, and a pressing form, a pressing direction, and a pressing degree of external force (for example see page 2, paragraph 7-10, pressing form=shear force, pressing direction= vertical or pressure angle, pressing degree= degree of sliding) that is collected from other upper electrodes adjacent to the specific upper electrode to which the external force is applied are recognized (pg. 4, paragraph 3).
Claim(s) 2, 5, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akai (JP 2021164395 A) in view of Minseok (KR 101665191 B1) and in further view of Xu (CN 214793550 U).
Regarding claim 2, Akai teaches a sensor made out of a wide variety of non-limiting materials (pg. 9-10. Paragraph 11). Akai in view of Minseok does not specifically disclose the upper electrode and the lower electrode are made of a transparent hydrogel. Xu teaches an electronic skin sensor (abstract) wherein the upper electrode and the lower electrode are made of a transparent hydrogel material (hydrogel is naturally transparent), and are manufactured to have elasticity in a side-to-side direction (pg. 5, paragraphs 1-2, structure is capable of this, hydrogel is inherently flexible and elastic).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device taught by Akai in view of Minseok by including the hydrogel composition, as taught by Xu, because doing so merely requires a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results; (MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 5, Akai in view of Minseok does not specifically disclose wherein forces are recognized based on a capacitance change. Xu teaches an electronic skin sensor (abstract) the external forces are recognized based on a capacitance change value between the upper electrode and the lower electrode due to external force applied to the upper electrode (pg. 2, paragraphs 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teaching of capacitance-type sensors as taught by Xu, to the device, as taught by Akai in view of Minseok, because it would be obvious to try choosing from a finite number of identified sensor types with a reasonable expectation of success (MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 8, Akai teaches wherein a transparent PVC gel material is applied to the polymer layer (pg. 1, paragraph 3) and further a sensor made out of a wide variety of non-limiting materials (pg. 9-10. Paragraph 11). Akai in view of Minseok does not specifically disclose the upper electrode and the lower electrodes are made of a transparent hydrogel. Xu teaches an electronic skin sensor (abstract) wherein a transparent hydrogel material (hydrogel is naturally transparent) is applied to the plurality of upper electrodes and the plurality of lower electrodes (pg. 5, paragraphs 1-2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device taught by Akai in view of Minseok by including the hydrogel composition, as taught by Xu, because doing so merely requires a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results (MPEP 2143).
Conclusion
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/H.L.P./ Examiner, Art Unit 3774
/JERRAH EDWARDS/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774