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 .
Drawings and Specification
Applicant has amended the drawings and specification with no new matter and has resolved any issues. See pages 8-10 of the 8/10/26 arguments. The drawings and specification changes, dated 8/10/26, are approved for entry.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Applicant has amended claim 7 to resolve the 35 USC 112 issue.
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 1-9 and 11-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller (US PG pub 2016/0317925) in view of Banks et al. (US patent 10,318,013).
Miller shows all of the limitations of the claims except for specifying a plurality of communication ports, at least three communication ports, and wherein the controller-input-generating device includes a trigger button, an action button, an analog stick, a rumble module, LED, or a steering wheel.
Miller shows,
In regards to claims 1 and 24,
A customizable handheld game controller (figure 1, 100), said game controller comprising:
a body; (114)
at least one analog stick (106), at least two trigger buttons (108), at least one action button (104), and at least one directional pad (110) operatively installed to the body;
one or more processors (101) disposed in the body operatively connected to the at least one analog stick, the at least two trigger buttons, the at least one action button, and the at least one directional pad to receive user input as a respective controller input via the at least one analog stick, the at least two trigger buttons, the at least one action button, or the at least one directional pad; and
a communication port (accessory interface 120) operatively mounted to the body and operatively connected to the one or more processors; wherein the communication port is configured to receive communication connections of controller-input-generating devices; (paragraph [0029], “the accessory interface may include one or more electrically-conductive contacts that align with complimentary electrically-conductive contact(s) of the external accessory to facilitate one-way and/or two-way communication signals to pass between the game controller 100 and the external accessory.” A USB port is given as an example, but “The accessory interface 120 may take any suitable form.”)
and
wherein the one or more processors are configured to program one or more of the plurality of communication ports to mirror the controller input such that a communication port input received at the communication port is processed by the one or more processors the same as the mirrored controller input. (paragraph [0035], “In some implementations, an external accessory may include at least one control that corresponds to an additional control signal.” The additional control signal received from the external accessory is considered to mirror a controller input.
Paragraph [0036], “In some implementations, the same control signal may be sent, but in cooperation with another control signal indicating accessory functionality is to be implemented such that the computing device 101 interprets the control signal differently.” In this implementation, the communication port input received at the communication port is the same or mirrored.)
Banks et al. teaches,
In regards to claim 20,
column 1, lines 16-31, “These systems are often “tightly coupled” to a particular set of user interface devices (e.g. mouse & keyboard, button panel, steering wheel & foot pedals, joysticks)—that is, these systems are built to be used with those specific devices or types of devices, and do not naturally offer support for other devices. In some cases, the supported user interfaces may be undesirable or prohibitive for a particular user or use case, and in such cases, it would be beneficial to customize users' interactions with the system. For example, someone with a physical disability affecting hand function may not be able to effectively use a standard game console controller to play a video game, whereas they may be capable of playing the video game using other controls, such as, for example, a combination of head controls and foot controls, or reconfigured existing controls, if only it were possible to control a gaming console using such inputs or in such a method.”
In regards to claims 6-9, 18-19 and 21-23,
column 26, lines 46-52, “The aspect described here has four USB ports and supporting electronics 104 and software 105, allowing the system to support USB HID devices as user interface devices 103 (USB HID devices include mice, keyboards, joysticks, foot pedals, head switches, a variety of assistive devices, and many other specialty devices)”. Head switches can be trigger buttons, joysticks are analog sticks, and keyboards and mice buttons have action buttons.
In regards to claims 11-13 and 15,
column 26, lines 54-58, “The aspect described here has a set of GPIO digital inputs, six of which are connected to physical 3.5 mm jacks to support the use of 3.5 mm switch inputs (such as “buddy buttons” or certain sip-and-puff input devices) as another device type.”
In regards to claims 16 and 17,
column 14, line 63 to column 15, line 7, “The system may provide feedback via one or more of: a visual display, audible, vibrotactile, haptic, or other feedback, which the system may embody, or which the system may connect to remotely via a wired or wireless connection, or via a communications network. The system may, for example, provide feedback to a user reflecting the quality, intensity, or other parameter of the user's interaction with input devices. For example, the system may present an LED, or other light or virtual mark, the color, state, brightness, or other characteristics of which, as the system detects various levels of the parameters, the system may vary according to the detected levels.” The vibrotactile is considered to be the rumble module.
Based on the teaching of Banks et al., 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 Miller invention to incorporate the converting input from alternate input devices system of Banks et al. including a plurality of communication ports, at least three communication ports, and wherein the controller-input-generating device includes a trigger button, an action button, an analog stick, a rumble module, LED, or a steering wheel in order to provide alternate means for a user to provide game inputs.
In regards to claim 2,
wherein the plurality of communication ports include magnets; and
wherein the plurality of communication ports are configured to magnetically couple with the communication connection of the controller-input-generating device. (paragraph [0046], “Non-limiting examples of mating elements may include magnets, mechanical fasteners, aligned electrical contacts, and other mating structures.”)
In regards to claim 3,
wherein the plurality of communication ports include ports disposed on a back of the body. (Figure 1, with no other claimed reference of as to top, back or side of a hand held controller that can be held in many orientations, in this interpretation the accessory interface 120 is considered to be disposed on a back of the body.)
In regards to claim 4,
wherein the plurality of communication ports include ports disposed on a side of the body. (Figure 1, with no other claimed reference of as to top, back or side of a hand held controller that can be held in many orientations, in this interpretation the accessory interface 120 is considered to be disposed on a side of the body.)
In regards to claims 5 and 14,
wherein the plurality of communication ports include ports disposed on a top of the body. (Figure 1, with no other claimed reference of as to top, back or side of a hand held controller that can be held in many orientations, in this interpretation the accessory interface 120 is considered to be disposed on a top of the body.)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/10/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts, “in contrast to the claimed controller where the controller processor is configured to mirror input from an attached device to an input from the input providing components of the controller, the processor of Miller is configured to remap, i.e., change, the input for the controls 102 of the controller 100 based on the attached external accessory 300. Therefore, the combination of Miller and Banks has not been shown to teach or suggest the amended claim feature "wherein the one or more processors are configured to program one or more of the plurality of communication ports to mirror a-the controller input such that a communication port input received at the communication port is processed by the one or more processors the same as the mirrored controller input." The examiner does not disagree that the cited part of Miller does remap the input. However, in another embodiment or implementation, paragraph [0036], “In some implementations, the same control signal may be sent, but in cooperation with another control signal indicating accessory functionality is to be implemented such that the computing device 101 interprets the control signal differently.” In this implementation, the communication port input received at the communication port is the same or mirrored. The reference does teach the claimed invention.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A CUFF whose telephone number is (571)272-6778. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9-5.
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/MICHAEL A CUFF/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
