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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/06/2025 and 07/20/2026 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 § 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) 1-5, 7, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (WO2020045470) in view of Gupta (AirWave: Non-Contact Haptic Feedback Using Air Vortex Rings, September 8-12, 2013).
As to independent claim 1, Takahashi teaches a apparatus (10), comprising: a movable body (20) including a magnet (30); an elastic part (81) configured to support the movable body (20) in a manner allowing vibration; a fixed body (50) including a coil (61, 62) configured to vibrate the movable body (20) through an electromagnetic interaction with the magnet (20) by generating a magnetic field with a supply of a current of a frequency equal to a resonance frequency of the movable body (20) as shown in figure 2 and (see paragraph [108])
However Takahashi teaches the claimed limitation as dissed above a fluid ejection part including a chamber part that includes a diaphragm and is configured to store inside a fluid, the fluid ejection part being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid ejected from the chamber part by taking in and out the fluid in the chamber part in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm accompanying resonance vibration of the movable body.
Gupta teaches a non-tactile apparatus wherein a fluid ejection part (open in the enclosed box) including a chamber part (enclosed box) that includes a diaphragm (speaker has a diaphragm) and is configured to store inside a fluid (air), the fluid ejection part (open in the enclosed box) being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid (air) ejected from the chamber part (enclosed box) by taking in and out the fluid (air) in the chamber part (enclosed box) in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm (speaker has a diaphragm) accompanying resonance vibration of the movable body as shown n figure 3 and page 421-422, for the advantageous benefit of improving the strength and energy efficiency.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Takahashi by using a fluid ejection part including a chamber part that includes a diaphragm and is configured to store inside a fluid, the fluid ejection part being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid ejected from the chamber part by taking in and out the fluid in the chamber part in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm accompanying resonance vibration of the movable body, as taught by Gupta, to improve the strength and energy efficiency.
As to independent claim 2, Takahashi teaches apparatus (10), comprising: a movable body (20) including a magnet (30) ; an elastic part (81) configured to support the movable body (20) in a manner allowing vibration; a fixed body (50) including a coil (61, 62) configured to vibrate the movable body (20) through an electromagnetic interaction with the magnet by generating a magnetic field with a supply of a current of a frequency close to a resonance frequency of the movable body (20) as shown in figure 2; and see paragraph [0092].
Takahashi teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except a fluid ejection part including a chamber part that includes a diaphragm and is configured to store inside a fluid, the fluid ejection part being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid ejected from the chamber part by taking in and out the fluid in the chamber part in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm accompanying vibration of the movable body.
Gupta teaches a non-tactile apparatus wherein a fluid ejection part (open in the enclosed box) including a chamber part (enclosed box) that includes a diaphragm (speaker has a diaphragm) and is configured to store inside a fluid (air), the fluid ejection part (open in the enclosed box) being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid (air) ejected from the chamber part (enclosed box) by taking in and out the fluid (air) in the chamber part (enclosed box) in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm (speaker has a diaphragm) accompanying resonance vibration of the movable body as shown n figure 3 and page 421-422, for the advantageous benefit of improving the strength and energy efficiency.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Takahashi by using a fluid ejection part including a chamber part that includes a diaphragm and is configured to store inside a fluid, the fluid ejection part being configured to present a tactile sensation using the fluid ejected from the chamber part by taking in and out the fluid in the chamber part in accordance with deformation of the diaphragm accompanying resonance vibration of the movable body, as taught by Gupta, to improve the strength and energy efficiency.
As to claim 3/1, Takahashi teaches wherein the magnet (30) is disposed at a position away from the coil (61, 62) and surrounded by the coil (61, 62) as shown in figure 2.
As to claim 4/1, Takahashi teaches wherein the elastic part (81) elastically supports the movable body (20) with respect to the fixed body (50) in a plurality of portions that are separated from each other in a vibration direction such that the movable body (20) is movable in the vibration direction as shown in figure 2.
As to claim 5/1, Takahashi teaches wherein the elastic part (81) is a leaf spring as shown in figure 2 and see paragraph [0040].
As to claim 7/1, Takahashi in view of Gupta teaches the claimed limitation as dissed above except further comprising a nozzle disposed above the diaphragm so as to open along a deformation direction of the diaphragm and serve as a passage of a fluid to be taken in and out of the chamber part, the diaphragm being disposed such that a surface of the diaphragm is perpendicular to a vibration direction.
However Gupta teaches a nozzle (circular aperture) disposed above the diaphragm (speaker diaphragm) so as to open along a deformation direction of the diaphragm (speaker diaphragm) and serve as a passage of a fluid (air) to be taken in and out of the chamber part (enclosed box), the diaphragm (speaker diaphragm) being disposed such that a surface of the diaphragm (speaker diaphragm) is perpendicular to a vibration direction as shown n figure 2 and 3, for the advantageous benefit of improving the strength and energy efficiency.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Takahashi in view of Gupta by using a nozzle disposed above the diaphragm so as to open along a deformation direction of the diaphragm and serve as a passage of a fluid to be taken in and out of the chamber part, the diaphragm being disposed such that a surface of the diaphragm is perpendicular to a vibration direction, as taught by Gupta, to improve the strength and energy efficiency.
As to claim 10/2, Takahashi teaches wherein the frequency close to the resonance frequency supplied to the coil (61) is from plus 30 Hz to negative 30 Hz with respect to the resonance frequency (see paragraph [0107]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (WO2020045470) and Gupta (AirWave: Non-Contact Haptic Feedback Using Air Vortex Rings, September 8-12, 2013) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Matsumoto (JP2002112519).
As to claim 6/1, Takahashi in view of Gupta teaches the claimed limitation as dissed above except wherein the diaphragm is fixed to the movable body at a central portion of the diaphragm.
Matsumoto teaches the diaphragm (13) is fixed to the movable body (34) at a central portion of the diaphragm (13) as shown in figure 9, for the advantageous benefit of correcting defects of an electromagnetially reciprocating driver in use.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Takahashi in view of Gupta by using the diaphragm is fixed to the movable body at a central portion of the diaphragm, as taught by Matsumoto, to correct defects of an electromagnetially reciprocating driver in use.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi (WO2020045470) and Gupta (AirWave: Non-Contact Haptic Feedback Using Air Vortex Rings, September 8-12, 2013) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Inoue (JP2003067107).
As to claim 11/1, Takahashi in view of Gupta teaches the claimed limitation as dissed above except a control part configured to vibrate the movable body by energizing the coil in response to a detected non-contact operation; and an ejection hole provided in the operation apparatus and configured to eject toward the user a fluid output from the chamber part.
However Inoue teaches a control part (4) configured to vibrate the movable body (3) by energizing the coil in response to a detected non-contact operation; and an ejection hole (see figures 1, 3), operation apparatus and configured to eject toward the user a fluid output from the chamber part as shown in figure 1 and 3, for the advantageous benefit of providing the operator can feel contact with virtual hand.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Takahashi in view of Gupta by using a control part configured to vibrate the movable body by energizing the coil in response to a detected non-contact operation; and an ejection hole provided in the operation apparatus and configured to eject toward the user a fluid output from the chamber part, as taught by Inoue, to provide the operator can feel contact with virtual hand.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9 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.
Conclusion
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/JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 August 6, 2026
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