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
Claims 4-11 and 14-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 03/05/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, "the first sensor is positioned orthogonal to the second sensor” of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Additionally, Figs. 2A-2D are not done in solid black lines.
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.
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 § 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)(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.
Claims 1-3, 12, 13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gohng (US20120267221)
Regarding claim 1, Gohng teaches a manual control assembly, comprising:a multi-modal control mechanism 301; a connection socket 100 for housing the multi-modal control mechanism on a steering controller 2 of a vehicle, wherein an interface (132, 211) of the connection socket is connected to a control system for the vehicle (the base connector 132 and the board connector 211 form the interface, see paragraph 79); a first sensor 330 and a second sensor 400 for detecting actuation of the multi-modal control mechanism, wherein the first sensor is positioned orthogonal to the second sensor (the sensing part 339 of the sensor 330 is positioned horizontally, while the sensing part 410 of the sensor 400 positioned vertically, see Figs. 9-12) to detect a force applied to the multi-modal control mechanism (the two sensors operate on orthogonal axes; the rotary sensor 330 detects force in rotational plane of the wheel, while the push sensor 410 detects force in the vertical axial direction “perpendicular to the wheel plane”, see paragraph 70); and a control module 200 for generating, based on the actuation, input signals to be transmitted to the control system to control one or more components of the vehicle (paragraph 80).
Regarding claim 2, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly wherein the multi-modal control mechanism 301 is capable of bidirectional actuation by spinning the multi-modal control mechanism around a central rotational axis (the knob 301 perform bidirectional rotary operation around the central axis of the shaft, see paragraph 85, 100).
Regarding claim 3, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly wherein the input signals are generated based on a detected measurement related to rotation of the multi-modal control mechanism around the central rotational axis, the detected measurement comprising at least one of an angle of rotation, a speed of rotation, an acceleration of rotation, or a rotational force (the sensing unit 330 measures the rotation of the shaft, see paragraph 95).
Regarding claim 12, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly further comprising a motor housed within the multi-modal control mechanism or a housing component of the connection socket 100 (paragraphs 85-86).
Regarding claim 13, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly further comprising a braking mechanism, wherein a level of resistance applied to the multi-modal control mechanism by the braking mechanism is determined by the control system (the haptic wheel device actuator 310 generates a “rotation restraining force” that resists or brakes the rotation of the knob (paragraph 85).
Regarding claim 16, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly further comprising a haptic actuator 310, wherein the manual control assembly is capable of generating haptic feedback using the haptic actuator based on signals received from the control system (paragraph 77).
Regarding claim 17, Gohng teaches a steering controller configured for installation in a vehicle, comprising: a pair of manual control assemblies 10 (Fig. 18), each of the manual control assemblies comprising:a multi-modal control mechanism 301 capable of bidirectional actuation around a central rotational axis (bidirectional spinning) and bidirectional actuation along one or more axes (vertical push); and a connection socket 100 for housing the multi-modal control mechanism on the steering controller, wherein an interface of the connection socket is connected to a control system for the vehicle (the base connector 132 and the board connector 211 form the interface, see paragraph 79); wherein each of the manual control assemblies is capable of transmitting input signals to the control system to control components of the vehicle (the circuit board 200 and the control unit 20 transmit signals from rotation/push sensors to the control vehicle components such as audio or navigation, see paragraph 125-127) and capable of receiving feedback signals from the control system (the hepatic wheel device actuator 310 receives signals from the control 20 to generate haptic feedback, see paragraphs 85, 125).
Regarding claim 18, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly wherein the pair of manual control assembly 10 are positioned on opposite sides of the steering controller 2, and wherein the multi-modal control mechanism 301 of each of the manual control assemblies is reachable by a driver's hand while positioned on the steering controller for normal driving operation (Fig. 18).
Regarding claim 19, Gohng teaches the manual control assembly wherein each of the manual control assemblies is associated with a user control context (control unit 20 selects different operating modes such audio or A/C based on user input, paragraphs 125-126), and wherein the input signals from each of the manual control assemblies are transmitted in accordance with the user control context (the input signals generated from the knob or push button are processed by the control unit 20, paragraphs 126-127).
Regarding claim 20, Gohng teaches a control system for a vehicle, comprising: an electronic control unit (20, 40, 30) comprising a processor 40 and a non-transitory computer-readable medium 30 comprising instructions executable to control one or more functions of the vehicle (Fig. 12 and paragraphs 126-127); a steering controller 2; a pair of manual control assemblies 10 incorporated into the steering controller, each of the manual control assemblies comprising:a multi-modal control mechanism 301 capable of bidirectional spinning around a central rotational axis; and a connection socket 100 for housing the multi-modal control mechanism on the steering controller of the vehicle, wherein an interface (the base connector 132 and the board connector 211 form the interface, see paragraph 79) of the connection socket is connected to a control system for the vehicle; wherein the manual control assemblies are capable of transmitting input signals to the electronic control unit to control components of the vehicle (the circuit board 200 and the control unit 20 transmit signals from rotation/push sensors to the control vehicle components such as audio or navigation, see paragraph 125-127).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED M SAEED whose telephone number is (571)270-7976. The examiner can normally be reached 10-8pm.
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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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/AHMED M SAEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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