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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/23/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 1-4, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dolcetti, CN 111148652 in view of Fujiyoshi, WO 2020183869 in view of Lamesch et al, US 20150345998
Regarding claim 1, Dolcetti discloses a sensor apparatus comprising: a sensor electrode provided on a base material (Fig. 1-2B; sensor electrode 14 on first surface 18); a shield electrode provided on the base material so as to surround an outer edge of the sensor electrode and configured to capacitively couple with the sensor electrode (Fig. 1-2B; shielding electrode 16); a voltage circuit connected to the shield electrode and configured to output a voltage (Fig. 4a; controller 401 outputs voltage signal to the shield and sensor electrodes).
Dolcetti is silent in the output voltage is an AC voltage having a predetermined phase and a predetermined voltage and a protection circuit including a first end part connected to a connection part between the voltage circuit and the shield electrode and a second end part connected to ground.
Fujiyoshi teaches an AC voltage having a predetermined phase and a predetermined voltage (¶[0006-0010]; AC voltage having same phase as voltage supplied to sensor electrode). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Fujiyoshi into Dolcetti for the benefit of detecting a change in the capacitance of the sensor electrode.
Lamesch teaches a protection circuit including a first end part connected to a connection part between a voltage circuit and the shield electrode and a second end part connected to ground (Fig. 10; capacitor 19 connected to shield electrode 22.3 and ground). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Lamesch into Dolcetti for the benefit of protecting the circuit against undesired currents.
Regarding claim 2, Dolcetti teaches wherein the voltage circuit is connected to the sensor electrode, and the voltage is supplied to the sensor electrode (Fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 3, Dolcetti teaches wherein the AC voltage having the predetermined voltage is supplied to the sensor electrode (Fig. 4A).
Regarding claim 4, Dolcetti teaches wherein the sensor electrode and the shield electrode are provided inside a casing and are arranged inward of an opening edge of an opening part of the casing in a planar view (Fig. 1-2B).
Regarding claim 6, Dolcetti teaches wherein the sensor electrode and the shield electrode are provided at a position of a spoke facing an inner peripheral side of a rim, the rim being of a steering wheel including the rim, the spoke, and a hub (Abstract).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dolcetti, CN 111148652 in view of Fujiyoshi, WO 2020183869 in view of Lamesch et al, US 20150345998 in view of Kandler, US 20090199676
Regarding claim 5, Dolcetti is silent in wherein the sensor electrode and the shield electrode are arranged inside a handle including a first case made of an insulator and a second case made of an insulator attached to the first case, and at least a part of the shield electrode is arranged along a joint of the first case and the second case. Kandler teaches a sensor electrode and the shield electrode are arranged inside a handle including a first case made of an insulator and a second case made of an insulator attached to the first case, and at least a part of the shield electrode is arranged along a joint of the first case and the second case (Fig. 1; conductor 1a, sheath 32, shielding layer 31, foamed layer 30). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Kandler into Dolcetti for the benefit of detecting capacitive changes in various environments so that relevant data may be acquired.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7, 8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 7, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the spoke includes a housing part configured to house a steering switch, and the sensor electrode and the shield electrode are provided in a casing of the steering switch so as to face the inner peripheral side of the rim in a state where the steering switch is housed in the housing part” in combination with all the limitations of claim 7.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FEBA POTHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9219. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00 PM.
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, Judy Nguyen can be reached on 571.272.2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Prosecution Insights