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 § 102
2. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention; or
(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.
3. Claims 1, 7, 9, 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ISHII (US 20220277719 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 9, ISHII discloses a keyboard device (Figs. 1 and 2), and a method for practicing the device, comprising: a plurality of displacement members (e.g., keys 12) arranged in a scale direction (the X-axis) and displaced according to an operation of a player; and a substrate (14) having a coil (60/61) which generates a magnetic field for detecting displacement of the plurality of displacement members, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of the coils provided respectively for the plurality of displacement members (Fig. 10), and a magnetic shield (72) partitioning the plurality of coils and formed by a conductive pattern of the substrate (para. 0047, 0118; see discussion of, e.g., Figs. 2 and 15).
Regarding claims 7 and 15, ISHII discloses: wherein the magnetic shields comprise a first magnetic shield (e.g., 72b1) and a second magnetic shield (e.g., 72a) laminated in a lower layer than the first magnetic shield, a plurality of the first magnetic shields (72b1) arranged in the scale direction are laminated in the same layer, and a plurality of the second magnetic shields (72a) arranged in the scale direction are laminated in the same layer (Figs. 10 and 12).
Regarding claim 17, ISHII discloses a keyboard device (Figs. 1 and 2), comprising: a plurality of conductors (e.g., keys 12) arranged in a scale direction and displaced according to an operation of a player; and a substrate (combination of 14 and 60) having a coil (61) which generates a magnetic field for detecting displacement of the plurality of conductors, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of the coils provided respectively for the plurality of conductors (Figs. 2 and 10), and a magnetic shield (72) partitioning the plurality of coils and formed by a conductive pattern of the substrate (para. 0047, 0118; see discussion of, e.g., Figs. 2 and 15).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 2, 4, 10, 12, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ISHII in view of Xu et al. (US 20210384754 A1).
Regarding claims 2, 10 and 18, ISHII is silent on: wherein the magnetic shield has a ring shape and surrounds an entire periphery of the coil.
Xu discloses a plurality of the magnetic shields (256, 258 in Fig. 8A) arranged side by side in a similar direction, wherein the magnetic shield has a ring shape and surrounds an entire periphery of a corresponding magnetic core (para. 0091).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the magnetic shield of ISHII such that it is ring-shaped and surrounds an entire periphery of a corresponding coil, as taught by Xu. It is deemed that such a modification is related to minor adjustment of the shape of ISHII’s electromagnetic shield (70 or 72), and is considered to be mere design choices of shape of the shield since the instant claims of the present application do not specify the particular function or benefit of the claimed limitation recited in claim 2. It has been held that an obvious matter of engineering design choice is not patentably advanced.
Regarding claims 4, 12 and 20, ISHII discloses: wherein no hole is formed in the substrate at a position where the magnetic shield is formed (e.g., Fig. 12).
6. Claims 5-6 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ISHII.
Regarding claims 5 and 13, ISHII discloses: a plurality of the coils and the magnetic shields are laminated together with the substrate (Fis. 10-12).
ISHII is silent on: wherein the substrate is a multilayer substrate in which a plurality of laminated plates are laminated.
The Examiner takes official notice that a musical keyboard instrument comprising a plurality of keys and each key is supported by a support or a base frame of the keyboard instrument, wherein the substrate is a multilayer substrate in which a plurality of laminated plates are laminated, is well-known in the art. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute such a well-known laminated substrate for the support (14) of ISHII to arrive the claimed invention. It has been held that the mere application of known technologies to a specific instance by those skilled in the art would have been obvious.
Regarding claims 6 and 14, ISHII discloses: wherein the number of laminations of the magnetic shields (e.g., a single piece 72 in Fig. 2) is smaller than the number of laminations of the coils (e.g., the combination of 61/65 in Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 3, 8, 11, 16 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Reasons for Allowance
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reason for the allowance of claims 3, 11 and 19 is the inclusion of the limitation: wherein the plurality of magnetic shields are not connected to a circuit that constitutes the substrate. It is this limitation in combination with the rest of the limitations as recited in independent claim 1, 9 or 17, that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes claims 3, 11 and 19 distinguish over the prior art.
The primary reason for the allowance of claims 8 and 16 is the inclusion of the limitation: wherein the magnetic shields comprise a first magnetic shield and a second magnetic shield laminated in a lower layer than the first magnetic shield, the first magnetic shields adjacent in the scale direction are laminated in different layers, and the second magnetic shields adjacent in the scale direction are laminated in different layers. It is this limitation in combination with the rest of the limitations as recited in independent claim 1 or 9 that has not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, which makes claims 8 and 16 distinguish over the prior art.
Contact Information
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIANCHUN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5981. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5:30PM EST M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571)270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANCHUN QIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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