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
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/10/24, 1/15/25, 1/15/25 & 1/19/26 are 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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 21-22, 27-28, 31 & 33-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ironmonger et al. (US Patent Pub. 20180178133, referred to hereinafter as Ironmonger).
Claim 21: Ironmonger discloses a game controller (figure 1), comprising: a case comprising an interior side, and an exterior side, said case comprising at least one trigger control receptacle which is accessible on said exterior side (figure 3, elements 11A-D),and, at least one trigger control configured to be removed from and replaced in said at least one trigger control receptacle (0121-0128 removable triggers 11A-11D).
Claim 22: Ironmonger discloses wherein said at least one trigger control comprises an electrically resistive pressure sensitive touch control and the range of force required to actuate said electrically resistive pressure sensitive touch control is in the range between 10-50 grams when measured pursuant to ASTM 1578 (0114).
Claim 27: Ironmonger discloses at least one thumbstick control supported by said case (figure 1).
Claim 28: Ironmonger discloses at least two spaced apart thumbstick controls supported by said case (figure 1, elements 3 & 5).
Claim 31: Ironmonger discloses wherein said at least one trigger control comprises a plurality of alternative trigger controls (0153).
Claim 33: Ironmonger discloses wherein said exterior side further comprises a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a back side, a left side, a left shoulder portion, a left handle portion, a right side, a right shoulder portion, a right handle portion, and a middle portion (figures 1-3).
Claim 34: Ironmonger discloses wherein said at least one trigger control comprises a capacitive control and a distance required to actuate said at least one trigger control is in the range between 0 and inch from said at least one trigger control (inherent to game controllers).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-2 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 40-44 are allowed.
Examiner’s Note
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Samperi (US Patent Pub. 20230133332) refers to the game controller has at least one joystick and a gate associated with that joystick can be easily replaced, either with a gate having the same shaped opening or a gate having a different sized and/or shaped opening. The gate is connected to the game controller via any type of suitable attachment that provides for quick and easy removal of the gate, such as snaps, fasteners, magnetic attraction, etc., even an adhesive.
Strahle (US Patent Pub. 2180353850) refers to a video game controller can include a body with a top surface and a bottom surface, multiple control inputs (e.g., thumbsticks, directional pads, buttons), and a face plate removably coupleable to the body over the top surface so that the plurality of control inputs extend through the face plate. One or more of the multiple control inputs are removable and replaceable without the use of tools by decoupling the face plate from the body and decoupling the control input from the body without disassembling the body.
The referenced citations made in the rejection(s) above are intended to exemplify areas in the prior art document(s) in which the examiner believed are the most relevant to the claimed subject matter. However, it is incumbent upon the applicant to analyze the prior art document(s) in its/their entirety since other areas of the document(s) may be relied upon at a later time to substantiate examiner's rationale of record. A prior art reference must be considered in its entirety, i.e., as a whole, including portions that would lead away from the claimed invention. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 220 USPQ 303 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984). However, "the prior art's mere disclosure of more than one alternative does not constitute a teaching away from any of these alternatives because such disclosure does not criticize, discredit, or otherwise discourage the solution claimed ...." In re Fulton, 391F.3d 1195, 1201,73 USPQ2d 1141, 1146 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNIT PANDYA whose telephone number is (571)272-2823. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6:30PM.
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/SUNIT PANDYA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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