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 § 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 1-2, and 7-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rigsby et al (US 2006/0189387) in view of On et al (US 2013/0280463).
Claim 1: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches a removable cover for an electronic gaming machine having one or more external surfaces (Rigsby Abstract), comprising:
a multi-layer flexible film, wherein one of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a vinyl film and another of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a printable film (On Paragraphs [0005], [0033], [0044], [0083]; Figures 1B, 3A), and
electrically conductive traces applied to one of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film to form a circuit that generates a signal in response to a trigger event (Rigsby Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 64; & On Paragraph [0088]), wherein the circuit provides a bonus feature that is hidden until a predetermined goal is achieved during gameplay on the electronic gaming machine (-wherein the display and function of buttons maybe dynamically changed according to game state- Rigsby Paragraph [0044]);
Rigsby teach the invention including a printable film for use with a gaming machine as presented above. While Rigsby is arguably silent regarding the inclusion of a multi-layer flexible film including circuits is a vinyl film (including calendared vinyl or a cast vinyl materials) and another of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a printable film, On teaches this feature in an removable analogous invention (On Paragraphs [0005], [0033], [0044], [0078], [0083], [0088]; Figures 1B, 3A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included the additional multilayer films including a vinyl film (including calendared vinyl or a cast vinyl materials) covering the printable film in order to provide the expected and predictable result of protecting content printed on the printable film from degradation and/or possible contamination issues as taught by On (On Paragraph [0083]).
Claim 2: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the removable cover is replaceable to enable reconfiguration of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Abstract; Paragraph [0008] & On Paragraph [0078]).
Claim 7: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the removable cover is shaped to correspond with a shape of at least a portion of the one or more external surfaces of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Figures 1, 4b;).
Claim 8: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer flexible film comprises a semi-translucent layer (Rigsby Paragraph [0042]).
Claim 9: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the removable cover comprises a plurality of sections, wherein each section is configured to be individually removable or to envelope one or more physically separate units (Rigsby Abstract; Paragraph [0030];).
Claim 10: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the removable cover is subjected to heating, stretching, sealing, or a combination thereof to secure the removable cover to the one or more external surfaces of the electronic gaming machine (- mounted by adhesive, tape, or the like- Rigsby Paragraph [0030]; & Described by Applicant’s Specification @ [0053] as an unqualified equivalent to the claimed alternatives).
Claim 11: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer flexible film includes an adhesive layer arranged to secure the multi-layer film to the one or more external surfaces of the electronic gaming machine (- mounted by adhesive, tape, or the like- Rigsby Paragraph [0030];).
Claim 12: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 11, wherein the multi-layer film is flexible and comprises a vinyl layer made of a calendared vinyl or a cast vinyl material (On Paragraphs [0005], [0083] Figures 1B, 3A).
Claim 13: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 11, wherein the multi-layer film is removably arranged around at least a portion of the external surfaces of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Figures 1, 4b;).
Claim 14: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer flexible film further includes one or more sensors configured to detect one or more conditions associated with the electronic gaming machine, a gaming environment, the removable cover, or a combination thereof (-encompasses the use of a touchscreen and the detection of inputs thereon- Rigsby Element 64;).
Claim 15: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors are configured communicate data corresponding to the one or more conditions to a processor of the electronic gaming machine, a remote computing device, or a combination thereof (-encompassing player inputs as measured by the touch sensors- Rigsby Abstract; Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 68).
Claim 16: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the removable cover of claim 14, wherein the one or more conditions of the electronic gaming machine are one or more of tampering, enhanced game play features, a status of the removable cover, player vital signs, environmental conditions, and a status of the electronic gaming machine (-encompassing player inputs as measured by the touch sensors- Rigsby Abstract; Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 68).
Claim 17: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches a method of applying a removable covering to an electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Abstract), comprising:
positioning a removable cover to one or more surfaces of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 64;), wherein the removable cover comprises:
a multi-layer flexible film, wherein one of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a vinyl film and another of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a printable film (On Paragraphs [0005], [0033], [0044], [0083]; Figures 1B, 3A), and
electrically conductive traces applied to one of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film to form a circuit that generates a signal in response to a trigger event (Rigsby Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 64; & On Paragraph [0088]), wherein the circuit provides a bonus feature that is hidden until a predetermined goal is achieved during gameplay on the electronic gaming machine (-wherein the display and function of buttons maybe dynamically changed according to game state- Rigsby Paragraph [0044]); and
enabling touch control of the electronic gaming machine using the circuit (Rigsby Figure 4a-4b; Paragraph [0042]; Element 64;).
Rigsby teach the invention including a printable film for use with a gaming machine as presented above. While Rigsby is arguably silent regarding the inclusion of a multi-layer flexible film including circuits is a vinyl film (including calendared vinyl or a cast vinyl materials) and another of the layers of the multi-layer flexible film is a printable film, On teaches this feature in an removable analogous invention (On Paragraphs [0005], [0033], [0044], [0078], [0083], [0088]; Figures 1B, 3A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included the additional multilayer films including a vinyl film (including calendared vinyl or a cast vinyl materials) covering the printable film in order to provide the expected and predictable result of protecting content printed on the printable film from degradation and/or possible contamination issues as taught by On (On Paragraph [0083]).
Claim 18: The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the method of claim 17, further comprising replacing the removable cover to enable reconfiguration of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Abstract; Paragraph [0008]).
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rigsby et al (US 2006/0189387) in view of On et al (US 2013/0280463) as applied at least to claims 1-2, and 7-18 above and further in view of King (US 2013/0044100).
Claim 3: The combination of Rigsby, On & King teaches the removable cover of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer flexible film has a textured exterior surface (-described at least as physical binary encoding/notches- Rigsby Paragraph [0042]) comprising Braille symbols in a region overlaying the circuit (King Abstract; Paragraphs [0017], [0063]-[0065]).
The combination of Rigsby teaches the invention including a textured surface for positioning over the one or more external surfaces of the electronic gaming machine as presented herein above. While Rigsby is silent regarding the implementation of Braille in a user interface, King teaches this feature in an analogous invention (King Abstract; Paragraphs [0017], [0063]-[0065]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the use of Braille with touch interfaces as taught by King in the combination of Rigsby & On in order to provide the predictable and expected result of expanding the useability of the interface for the visually impaired.
Claim 4: The combination of Rigsby, On & King teaches the removable cover of claim 3, wherein the textured exterior surface is configured to be imprinted with one or more of graphics, patterns, colors, text, or a combination thereof (Rigsby Paragraph [0042]).
Claim 5: The combination of Rigsby, On & King teaches the removable cover of claim 4, wherein the one or more of graphics, patterns, colors, or text, is configured to dynamically change to display different information in response to a change in graphics or light effects on an underlying component of the electronic gaming machine (Rigsby Paragraphs [0042], [0044]).
Claim 6: The combination of Rigsby, On & King teaches the removable cover of claim 5, wherein the underlying component is one of a light source or a digital display (Rigsby Paragraphs [0042], [0044];).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rigsby et al (US 2006/0189387) in view of On et al (US 2013/0280463) as applied at least to claims 1-2, and 7-18 above and further in view of Vengrin et al (US 2010/0160016).
Claim 19: The combination of Rigsby, On & Vengrin teaches the removable cover of claim 14, wherein the circuit comprises a membrane panel (Vengrin Col 4:55-5:3).
The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the invention including the application of various circuits and touch screens as cited herein above. While the combination of Rigsby & On is silent regarding the use of a membrane panel, in an analogous invention Vengrin teaches this feature was a known element in gaming devices (Vengrin Col 4:55-5:3). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective priority date of the claimed invention to have utilize membrane switches as taught by Shimabukuro in the invention Rigsby & On because such would have provided the known and expected advantage of providing an input device adaptable to different and changing graphic interface designs without modification as taught by Vengrin (Vengrin Abstract; Figures 1-3).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rigsby et al (US 2006/0189387) in view of On et al (US 2013/0280463) as applied at least to claims 1-2, and 7-18 above and further in view of Shimabukuro et al (US 2010/0160016).
Claim 20: The combination of Rigsby, On & Shimabukuro teaches removable cover of claim 14, wherein the circuit comprises a piezoelectric switch (Shimabukuro Paragraph [0083]).
The combination of Rigsby & On teaches the invention including the application of various circuits and touch screens as cited herein above. While the combination of Rigsby & On is silent regarding the use of a piezoelectric switch, in an analogous invention Shimabukuro teaches this feature was a known element in gaming devices (Shimabukuro [0083]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective priority date of the claimed invention to have utilize a piezoelectric switch as taught by Shimabukuro in the invention Rigsby & On because such would have provided the known and expected advantage of providing the ability to simulate the haptic feedback of actual switches as taught by Shimabukuro (Shimabukuro [0083]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 31st, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Commencing on pages 6-8 the Applicant proposes that the prior art combination of Rigsby & King fails to teach the limitations of the claimed invention as amended.
Responsive to the applicant presented amendments, the rejection of claims has been updated to incorporate the prior art reference of On which specifically teaches the inclusion of flexible multilayer films including the incorporation of circuits therein as cited in the rejections above.
In view of the preceding the rejection of claims is respectfully maintained as presented above
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) 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 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 ROBERT E MOSSER whose telephone number is (571)272-4451. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:45-3:45.
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ROBERT E. MOSSER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3715
/ROBERT E MOSSER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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