DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to Applicant’s December 2, 2025, submission. Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application.
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 1-7, 9-17, 19, and 20, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dalton (U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,607) in view of Salter et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2024/0025361 A1, hereinafter "Salter”).
Specifically, regarding Claim 1, Dalton discloses [an] electrical switch assembly (FIG. 4), comprising an adaptor (64) having an end with a first height (H1; FIG. 4, reproduced and annotated below) and a first width (W1; FIGa1. 4 below) and an end face (EF; FIG. 4 below), the adaptor (64) also having a first depth (D1; FIG. 4 below) dimensioned such that the adaptor (64) can be installed in a re-existing opening of a switch bank of a vehicle (the adapter can be installed as described), and a switch component (61, 63, S1) having a housing (61) and at least one switch device (S1) surrounded on at least three sides by the housing (the actuator ACT of S1 is surrounded by a surrounding opening surface SOS of 61; FIG. 4), the housing (61) having a second height (H2; FIG. 4 below), a second width (W2; FIG. 4) and a second depth (D2; FIG. 4), the second height (H2) being greater than the first height (H1) and the second width (W2) being greater than the first width (W1) such that with the switch component (61, 63, S1) installed to the adaptor (64), the switch component (61, 63, S1) completely covers the end face (EF) of the adaptor (FIG. 4, in an assembled state). Dalton does not disclose (i) that the switch is a vehicle electrical switch, as recited in Claim 1, and (ii) that the adaptor includes a plurality of snap-fitting protrusions dimension to engage surfaces of that define the opening of the pre-existing switch bank for retention therein, as recited in Claim 3.
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However, Salter discloses (i) a vehicle electrical switch [and an adapter (30; FIG. 2) that can be installed in a pre-existing opening of a switch bank of a vehicle (C; FIG. 4, ¶ [0031])], as recited in Claim 1, and (ii) that the adaptor (30) includes a plurality of snap-fitting protrusions (50) dimension to engage surfaces of that define the opening of the pre-existing switch bank for retention therein (FIG. 2), as recited in Claim 3.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Salter with those of Dalton to provide coupling from an energy source to various vehicle locations.
Regarding Claim 2, Dalton discloses that the second depth (D2) of the housing (61) of the switch is less than 10% of the first depth (D1) of the adaptor (64; FIG. 4).
Regarding Claim 4, Dalton discloses that the switch device (S1) includes a wiring harness (the semi-circular end portions of 20, 21; FIG. 4) that extends from a back side of the switch component (61, 63, S1) and through an opening in the end face (EF) of the adaptor (64) such that the switch device (S1) can be electrically connected to the vehicle (FIG. 4).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention, and Dalton further discloses that the at least one switch device (S1) includes a first switch (S1) configured such that pressing on a first portion (ACT; FIG. 4) of an exposed surface of the housing (61) of the switch component (61, 63, S1) operates the first switch. The combination of Dalton and Salter does not disclose the claimed second switch. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a second switch wherein pressing on a second portion of the exposed surface of the housing (e.g., a second one of ACT) of the switch component operates the second switch to provide increased electrical load coupling capacity since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention, and Dalton further discloses that the first switch includes a pair of electric contact plates (in which a screw is inserted at 51; FIG. 4), and an exposed surface of the housing (61) is made of a flexible material such that pressing the first portion (ACT) of the exposed surface operates the first switch. The combination of Dalton and Salter does not disclose the claimed material. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize such material to provide a more user-friendly touch feel adjacent the actuator since it has been held to be within the general ordinary skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
The combination of Dalton and Salter does not disclose the claimed second switch. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a second switch wherein pressing on a second portion of the exposed surface of the housing (e.g., a second one of ACT) of the switch component operates the second switch to provide increased electrical load coupling capacity since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention, and Dalton further discloses that the at least one switch device (S1) includes a first switch (S1) configured such that contacting a first portion (ACT) of an exposed surface of the housing (61) of the switch component (61, 63, S1) operates the first switch. The combination of Dalton and Salter does not disclose the claimed second switch. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a second switch wherein pressing on a second portion of the exposed surface of the housing (e.g., a second one of ACT) of the switch component operates the second switch to provide increased electrical load coupling capacity since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention but does not disclose the claimed material. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to utilize such material to provide electrical insulation since it has been held to be within the general ordinary skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claims 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 19, include language similar to that of Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, respectively, and are rejected for reasons at least similar to those discussed above. Regarding Claim 10, Salter discloses a switch bank having a plurality of openings (¶ [0078]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Salter with those of Dalton to provide multiple options for device coupling.
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention and Salter further discloses that each of the plurality of openings of the switch bank includes a projection receiving structure (50), and the adaptor (30) includes at least one snap-fitting projection (56) dimensioned and positioned to contact the projection receiving structure (50) once installed into one of the plurality of openings in the switch bank thereby retaining the adaptor (30) within the one of the plurality of openings (FIG. 3, ¶ [0078]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Salter with those of Dalton to ensure a secure fit for device coupling.
Regarding Claim 20, Dalton discloses that the at least one switch device (S1) is fixed to a printed circuit board (54; FIG. 3).
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Dalton and Salter in view of Cannon et al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2021/0194483 A1, hereinafter “Cannon”).
The combination of Dalton and Salter discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention, but does not disclose the claimed switch. However, Cannon discloses that each of the first switch (104-3) and the second switch (104-4) is a capacitive haptic switch (¶¶ [0021], [0031]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Cannon with those of Dalton and Salter to provide a user-friendly actuation means (e.g., one requiring less or no physical contact with an actuator).
Claim 18 includes language similar to that of Claim 8 and is rejected for reasons at least similar to those discussed above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY R. JIMENEZ whose telephone number is (313) 446-6518. The examiner can normally be reached 12-9 ESTPM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee Luebke, can be reached at (571) 272-2009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/ANTHONY R JIMENEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833