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 Jan. 6, 2025 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Buttulo et al. (US 2017/0227118).
Buttulo discloses and shows a shifting apparatus (Fig. 2 and Fig. 10, for example), comprising:
a shift switch that provides an operation instruction (30, PRNDL) in accordance with contact of an operating hand (58); and
a notification unit (22) that, in a case in which operation of the shift switch is prohibited due to lack of a predetermined vehicle state, makes a notification of the lacking vehicle state before contact of the operating hand with the shift switch (para. 0046, Fig. 14, steps 114, 118).
Cl. 2 – the shifting apparatus further comprises an approach sensing unit (Fig. 4, Fig. 5, items 50, 50A, respectively) that senses an approach of the operating hand toward the shift switch, wherein the notification unit makes the notification based on sensing information from the approach sensing unit.
Cl. 3 – the predetermined vehicle state is a brake operation state (para. 0046, the predetermined state is the vehicle moving forward, thus the brake is in a NO operation state).
Cl. 4 – the predetermined vehicle state is a state relating to vehicle speed (para. 0048, Fig. 15, step 212).
Cl. 5 – the notification unit is an icon indicating the predetermined vehicle state (Fig. 14, steps 114, 118).
Cl. 7 – the shifting apparatus further comprises a second notification unit that, in a case in which operation of the shift switch is prohibited due to the lack of the predetermined vehicle state, makes a notification of the shift switch whose operation is prohibited before contact of the operating hand with the shift switch (the second notification unit being the shifter assembly returning to the stowed position, para. 0048, Fig. 15, step 214).
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Buttulo as applied to claim 5.
Buttulo discloses and shows the invention of claim 5 as desctibed elsewhere above. The Buttolo apparatus does not have the icon disposed in a row with the shift switch. However, Buttolo does state at paragraph 0044, “…display 22 may be located elsewhere on the vehicle”, such as, in a row with the shift switch.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arranged the icon in a row with the shift switch in accordance with MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C) which states, “shifting the position of the starting switch would not have modified the operation of the device” in citing In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BOBBY RUSHING, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minnah Seoh can be reached at (571) 270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BOBBY RUSHING, JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
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