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 § 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 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Namiki Osamu (JP-2018192559). Namiki Osamu discloses in the Figures and specification an interaction apparatus 100 comprising an outer shell 104 and at least one capacitance sensor 400 disposed near a surface of the shell and configured to have a substrate with elasticity and at least one sensor electrode thereon.
With respect to claims 7 and 8, the sensor of Namiki Osamu has an annular shape (i.e. has an opening), and in one embodiment also has a notch (cutout). With respect to claim 10, the device of Namiki Osamu has in one embodiment an outer skin formed of fiber. With respect to claim 11, Namiki Osamu further discloses a processor configured to detect pressing from the capacitance sensor and provide touch proximity information.
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Namiki Osamu in view of Kaneko (WO-2014054754). Namiki Osamu discloses the claim limitations with the exception of the provision of an external force sensor and processor wherein an output reference value for the capacitance sensor is reset when the external force sensor does not detect an external force as recited. Kaneko discloses at Fig. 6 and in the specification an interaction apparatus comprising a capacitance sensor and an external force sensor whereby a self-test is performed, and when an “input operation is not detected” (detection of a non-contact state via the capacitance sensor) , an offset calibration (reset of an output reference value for the capacitance sensor) is performed. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Namiki Osamu by providing an external force sensor and processor which are operable as taught by Kaneko as an obvious substitution of one known element for another to achieve predictable results and for the purpose of correcting an offset of the output of the force sensor.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/KURT FERNSTROM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
September 2, 2026
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