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 .
Claims 1-19 are pending in the instant application. Claim 20 is canceled. Claims 3-4 and 11-16 are withdrawn from consideration as been directed to a non-elected species.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention 1 and Species 1A in the reply filed on 11/09/2025 is acknowledged. Applicant elected species 1A and claims 1, 2, 5-10, 14, 15, and 17-19. And withdraw from consideration claims 3, 4, 11-13 and 16. However, claims 14-15 depend directly or indirectly from withdrawn claim 11. Therefore claims 14-15 are also withdrawn from consideration, since they are being directed to a non-elected invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/26/2024 and 04/29/2025 are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 17-19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 17, line 20, recites “at which the closed circuit is formed”. However, claim 17 discloses “a closed circuit” in line 13 and “a closed circuit” in line 16. To clarify the claim language and to differentiate between the close circuits, examiner suggests amending line 20 as follows “at which the at least two of the plurality of touch sensors formed the closed circuit”.
Claims 18-19 depend directly from objected claim 17, therefore are also objected.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 2, 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanabe (US 20060283267 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Tanabe teaches a touch sensor (see Fig. 4, abstract. Touch panel), comprising:
a first electrode and a second electrode (see Fig. 1, para. [0006], para. [0008]. upper conductive layer 103 and lower conductive layer 104),
a substrate (see Fig. 4, optically transparent elastic layer 105), the first electrode and the second electrode being located on both sides of the substrate, respectively (see Fig. 4, para. [0007]. As depicted in Fig. 4 upper conductive layer 103 is located on the upper side of the elastic layer 105 and lower conductive layer 104 is located on the lower side of the elastic layer 105); and
at least one conduction post located in the substrate (see Fig. 4, plural conductive wires 106, para. [0007]), one end of the at least one conduction post being electrically connected with the first electrode or the second electrode (see Fig. 4, para. [0007]. Bottom ends of conductive wires 106 are in contact with lower conductive layer 104), wherein
when the substrate is in a natural state, an open circuit is formed between the first electrode, the at least one conduction post, and the second electrode (see Fig. 4, para. [0007]-[0012]. Bottom ends of conductive wires 106 are in contact with lower conductive layer 104. A predetermined space is provided between top ends of conductive wires 106 and upper conductive layer 103. When depressing force on upper substrate 101 is released, upper substrate 101 returns to an original form by elastic restoring forces of upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105. With this, upper conductive layer 103 is detached from the top ends of conductive wires 106. As depicted in figure 4 bottom ends of conductive wires 106 are in contact with lower conductive layer 104 while the top ends of conductive wires 106 are spaced from the upper conductive layer 103, which corresponds to the open circuit), and
when a user exerts a force on the first electrode or the second electrode, the substrate deforms, and the first electrode and the second electrode are electrically connected by the at least one conduction post such that a closed circuit is formed between the first electrode, the at least one conduction post, and the second electrode (see Fig. 4, para. [0006]-[0012]. A top surface of upper substrate 101 is depressed with a finger or a thing such as pen in the direction of arrow X while visually confirming what is displayed on the liquid crystal display device, for example, on a back of touch panel 100. With this operation, upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105 are bent, and that part of upper conductive layer 103 which is depressed and the top ends of conductive wires 106 come into contact together. When upper substrate 101 is further depressed, conductive wires 106 are bent. At this result, upper conductive layer 103 and lower conductive layer 104 are electrically connected via conductive wires 106 (which corresponds to a close circuit)).
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Regarding Claim 2, Tanabe teaches the touch sensor of claim 1.
Tanabe further teaches wherein the at least one conduction post includes a first conduction post, the first conduction post includes a first end portion and a second end portion (see annotated Fig. 4 above. As depicted in annotated figure 4. Each conductive wire has a top end and a bottom end), the first end portion of the first conduction post is electrically connected with the first electrode (see Fig. 4 para. [0007]-[0010]. Bottom ends of conductive wires 106 are in contact with lower conductive layer 104), and when the substrate is in the natural state, a spacing is provided between the second end portion of the first conduction post and a side of the second electrode that is in contact with the substrate (see Fig. 4, para. [0007], para. [0012]. A predetermined space is provided between top ends of conductive wires 106 and upper conductive layer 103. When depressing force on upper substrate 101 is released, upper substrate 101 returns to an original form by elastic restoring forces of upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105. With this, upper conductive layer 103 is detached from the top ends of conductive wires 106); and
when the user exerts the force on the first electrode or the second electrode, the substrate deforms, and the second end portion of the first conduction post contacts with the second electrode such that the closed circuit is formed between the first electrode, the first conduction post, and the second electrode (see Fig. 4, para. [0006]-[0012]. A top surface of upper substrate 101 is depressed with a finger or a thing such as pen in the direction of arrow X while visually confirming what is displayed on the liquid crystal display device, for example, on a back of touch panel 100. With this operation, upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105 are bent, and that part of upper conductive layer 103 which is depressed and the top ends of conductive wires 106 come into contact together. When upper substrate 101 is further depressed, conductive wires 106 are bent. At this result, upper conductive layer 103 and lower conductive layer 104 are electrically connected via conductive wires 106 (which corresponds to a close circuit)).
Regarding Claim 5, Tanabe teaches the touch sensor of claim 2.
Tanabe further teaches wherein the substrate is made of a flexible material (see para. [0007], para. [0010]. optically transparent elastic layer 105 made of silicone rubber, urethane rubber. A top surface of upper substrate 101 is depressed with a finger or a thing such as pen in the direction of arrow X while visually confirming what is displayed on the liquid crystal display device, for example, on a back of touch panel 100. With this operation, upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105 are bent), and a Young's modulus of the flexible material is within a range of 5E5 Pa-5E9 Pa (Inherently the Young’s modulus of silicone rubber and the Young’s modulus of urethane rubbers is between 5E5 Pa-5E9 Pa. Young’s modulus of silicone rubbers generally ranges between 1.5 MPa – 5 MPa and the Young’s modulus of urethane rubbers generally ranges between 5 MPa-30 MPa).
Regarding Claim 10, Tanabe the touch sensor of claim 2.
Tanabe further teaches wherein the substrate includes one or more hole portions, the one or more hole portions penetrate through the substrate, the at least one first conduction post is located in the one or more hole portions (see Fig. 4 and para. [0007]. Two or more conductive wires 106 made of nickel, stainless steel or the like are disposed in a manner vertically oriented and buried inside elastic layer 105. Bottom ends of conductive wires 106 are in contact with lower conductive layer 104), and when the user exerts the force on the first electrode or the second electrode, the second end portion contacts with the second electrode (see Fig. 4, para. [0010]. a top surface of upper substrate 101 is depressed with a finger or a thing such as pen in the direction of arrow X while visually confirming what is displayed on the liquid crystal display device, for example, on a back of touch panel 100. With this operation, upper substrate 101 and elastic layer 105 are bent, and that part of upper conductive layer 103 which is depressed and the top ends of conductive wires 106 come into contact together. When upper substrate 101 is further depressed, conductive wires 106 are bent. At this result, upper conductive layer 103 and lower conductive layer 104 are electrically connected via conductive wires 106).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 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.
Claims 17-19 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the objections set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
None of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combination, discloses or fairly suggests the following:
Claim 17:
wherein the plurality of touch sensors are distributed in an array, and at least two of the plurality of touch sensors form a closed circuit therewithin in response to the user gesture; … ; and a processor, configured to determine a sliding direction of the user gesture based on position information of the at least two of the plurality of touch sensors and time information at which the at least two of the plurality of touch sensors formed the closed circuit
In combination with all other claim limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20220011899 A1 – Kim et al. – Electronic device with a plurality of touch members. The plurality of touch members that includes a first touch member TM1, a second touch member TM2, and a third touch member TM3. A touch input by a slide operation is to of the first, second, and third touch members TM1, TM2, and TM3 by a user dragging or pushing the first, second, and third of touch members TM1, TM2, and TM3. The electronic device determines an operation direction of the slide touch based on signals obtained from the first, second, and third touch members TM1, TM2, and TM3.
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/IM/Examiner, Art Unit 2626
/TEMESGHEN GHEBRETINSAE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2626 3/9/26