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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 9-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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(s) 9-12 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 Yang, US 20160171272
Regarding claim 9, 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 signal to the shield and sensor electrodes); and
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, wherein the protection circuit includes a Zener diode having a cathode connected to the connection part and an anode connected to the ground, or a varistor connected between the connection part and the ground.
Fujiyoshi teaches an AC voltage having a predetermined phase and a predetermined
voltage (10006-0010]; 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.
Yang teaches a capacitance sensor having a protection circuit including a first end part connected to a connection part between a voltage circuit and an electrode and a second end part connected to ground (Fig. 1a-3; protection circuit 14 connected between electrode 52, VR1/VR2 or VDD and ground), wherein the protection circuit includes a Zener diode having a cathode connected to the connection part and an anode connected to the ground, or a varistor connected between the connection part and the ground (Fig. 3; diode D2 connected to ground and connection between electrode 52 and VR1/VR2 or VDD). 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 Yang into Dolcetti for the benefit of providing a discharge path for static electricity.
Regarding claim 10, Dolcetti teaches wherein the voltage circuit is connected to the sensor electrode, and the AC voltage having the predetermined phase is supplied to the sensor electrode (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 11, Dolcetti teaches wherein the AC voltage having the predetermined voltage is supplied to the sensor electrode (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 12, 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).
Claim(s) 13 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 Yang, US 20160171272 in view of Kandler, US 20090199676
Regarding claim 13, 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
Claims 1-5 and 8 are allowed.
Claim 14 is 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 14, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein with respect to a width of the sensor electrode, a width of the shield electrode is wider in a section where a steering switch exists than in a section where the steering switch does not exist” in combination with all the limitations of claim 14.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “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, and 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 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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.
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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