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 references cited in the IDS have been considered by examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: WRITING DEVICE HAVING A PLURALITY OF ELASTIC BODY WITH DIFFERENT STIFFNESS AND DISPLAY DEVICE THEREOF.
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 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujitsuka et al (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2003/0122795) in view of Ballan et al (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2016/0239112).
Regarding claim 1, Fujitsuka discloses a writing device (10), (fig. 1, [0093]), comprising:
a movable portion (101 and 102) having a contact portion (101), the movable portion being configured to be movable in advancing and retracting directions (i.e. the rodlike lead 101 is disposed at the leading end of the casing 11 so as to move into and out of the casing 11, and the ferrite chip 102 is fixed to the base end of the lead 101) so as to be retracted when the contact portion comes into contact with a contact target portion (i.e. when lead 101 press against the tablet 20), (figs. 1-2, [0094 and 0102]);
a holding portion (11) configured to hold the movable portion (i.e. casing 11 holds lead 101 and ferrite chip 102 as well as all other components inside), (fig. 1, [0096]); and
an elastic portion (103) provided on a side opposite from a contact portion side of the movable portion in the advancing and retracting directions (i.e. O-ring 103 is above the contact portion side of the lead 101 in the directions which the lead 101 moves into and out of the casing), (fig. 1, [0098 and 0094]),
wherein the elastic portion (103) includes a first elastic body (left O-ring 103) and a second elastic body (right O-ring 103), the first elastic body and the second elastic body each being elastically deformed by retraction of the movable portion (i.e. elastically deforms when pressing force is applied) to reduce a thickness in the advancing and retracting directions (i.e. the O-ring 103 holds the ferrite chip 102 and the ferrite core 104 with an interval therebetween, and elastically O-rings 103 deform when pressing force is applied in a direction to move the ferrite chip 102 and the ferrite core 104 closer together, hence the thickness of both O-ring 103 has to reduce in order for the ferrite chip 102 is moved closer to the ferrite core 104), (figs. 1 and 7B, [0099-0103]),
wherein the first elastic body (left O-ring 103) and the second elastic body (right O-ring 103) are provided adjacent to each other in this order with respect to the movable portion (i.e. both the left and the right O-ring 103 are adjacent and in the order with respect to the lead 101 and ferrite chip 102), (fig. 1, [0094 and 0098]).
However, Fujitsuka does not mention wherein the first elastic body is an elastic body having stiffness lower than stiffness of the second elastic body.
In a similar field of endeavor, Ballan teaches wherein the elastic portion (21) includes a first elastic body (leaf portions 21.11) and a second elastic body (left portions 21.12),
wherein the first elastic body (21.11) is an elastic body having stiffness lower than stiffness of the second elastic body (21.12), (i.e. the first elastic leaf portion 21.11 has a first stiffness and the second elastic leaf portion 21.12 has a second stiffness and the first stiffness is smaller than the second stiffness), (fig. 13b, [0064]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Fujitsuka, by specifically providing the elastic bodies having different stiffness, as taught by Ballan, for the purpose of providing a thinner pen-shaped coordinate pointing device, [0026].
Regarding claim 6, Fujitsuka discloses further comprising:
a pressing portion (102a) configured to be pressed by the movable portion (101 and 102) moving in a retracting direction (i.e. when lead 101 moves into the casing 11) of the advancing and retracting directions (i.e. into and out directions),
wherein a signal is output by pressing of the pressing portion (i.e. with the movement of the ferrite chip 102 closer to the ferrite core 104, the inductance of the coil 105 wound on the ferrite core 104 is changed. That is, the inductance of the coil 105 is changed when the input pen 10 is operated), (fig. 1, [0103-0104]).
Claim(s) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujitsuka in view of Ballan and in view of Tone (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2017/0344168).
Regarding claim 7, Fujitsuka in view of Ballan discloses everything as specified above in claim 1. However, Fujitsuka in view of Ballan does not mention a display device.
In a similar field of endeavor, Tone teaches a display device (300a) comprising: the writing device (100) according to claim 1; and
a display portion (300a) as the contact target portion, wherein the display portion detects a contact position (coordinate data) of the contact portion (i.e. tip of the pen 100) with respect to the display portion, and performs a predetermined display (i.e. performing touch operation and a drawing operation), (fig. 1, [0052-0055 and 0117]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Fujitsuka in view of Ballan, by specifically providing the display device, as taught by Tone, for the purpose of increasing functionality for using the pen with a touch panel display device.
Regarding claim 8, Fujitsuka in view of Ballan discloses everything as specified above in claim 1. However, Fujitsuka in view of Ballan does not mention a communication system.
In a similar field of endeavor, Tone teaches a communication system (fig. 25) comprising:
one display device (300) each including the writing device (100), (fig. 25, [0055]), according to claim 1, and
a display portion as the contact target portion (i.e. touch panel display device 300a is the contact target portion for the pen 100), (fig. 25, [0055]);
a plurality of terminals (300a and 300b) configured to perform a predetermined display (i.e. object data on the touch panel display device 300a), (fig. 25, [0159]); and
a server (400), (fig. 25, [0152]),
wherein the display device (300), the plurality of terminals (300a and 300b), and the server (400) are communicably connected to each other, (fig. 25, [0160 and 0165]),
wherein the display device detects a contact position (coordinate data) of the contact portion (i.e. tip of pen 100) with respect to the display portion, and performs a predetermined display (i.e. performing touch operation and a drawing operation), (fig. 25, [0052-0055 and 0117]), and
wherein the terminals (300a and 300b) display a content of writing on the display portion of the display device by the writing device (i.e. performing touch operation and a drawing operation on the display device 300a and 300b), (figs. 7 and 10, [0090 and 0095]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Fujitsuka in view of Ballan, by specifically providing the communication system, as taught by Tone, for the purpose of increasing functionality for using the pen with a plurality of touch panel display device.
Regarding claim 9, Tone discloses wherein each of the terminals (300a and 300b) displays a content of writing on a corresponding one of the terminals (300) by the writing device (100), (i.e. user draws with the pen 100), (fig. 7, [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Fujitsuka in view of Ballan, by specifically providing the terminals, as taught by Tone, for the purpose of increasing functionality for using the pen with a plurality of touch panel display device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 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.
Claim 5 is allowed.
Reasons for Allowance
Claim 2, Fujitsuka discloses the O-rings 103 having a thickness as shown in figure 1. However, none of the prior art of record teaches alone or in combination the limitation “wherein the first elastic body has a thickness in the advancing and retracting directions smaller than a thickness of the second elastic body.”
Claims 3-4 are dependent upon claim 2 and are allowed for the reason mentioned above in claim 2.
Claim 5, Fujitsuka discloses a writing device (10), (fig. 1, [0093]), comprising:
a movable portion (101 and 102) having a contact portion (101), the movable portion being configured to be movable in advancing and retracting directions (i.e. the rodlike lead 101 is disposed at the leading end of the casing 11 so as to move into and out of the casing 11, and the ferrite chip 102 is fixed to the base end of the lead 101) so as to be retracted when the contact portion comes into contact with a contact target portion (i.e. when lead 101 press against the tablet 20), (figs. 1-2, [0094 and 0102]);
a holding portion (11) configured to hold the movable portion (i.e. casing 11 holds lead 101 and ferrite chip 102 as well as all other components inside), (fig. 1, [0096]); and
an elastic portion (103) provided on a side opposite from a contact portion side of the movable portion in the advancing and retracting directions (i.e. O-ring 103 is above the contact portion side of the lead 101 in the directions which the lead 101 moves into and out of the casing), (fig. 1, [0098 and 0094]),
wherein the elastic portion (103) includes a first elastic body (left O-ring 103) and a second elastic body (right O-ring 103), the first elastic body and the second elastic body each being elastically deformed by retraction of the movable portion (i.e. elastically deforms when pressing force is applied) to reduce a thickness in the advancing and retracting directions (i.e. the O-ring 103 holds the ferrite chip 102 and the ferrite core 104 with an interval therebetween, and elastically deforms when pressing force is applied in a direction to move the ferrite chip 102 and the ferrite core 104 closer together, thus the thickness of both O-ring 103 has to reduce in order for the ferrite chip 102 and the ferrite core 104 to move together), (fig. 1, [0099 and 0102-0103]),
wherein the first elastic body (left O-ring 103) and the second elastic body (right O-ring 103) are provided adjacent to each other in this order with respect to the movable portion (i.e. both the left and the right O-ring 103 are adjacent and in the order with respect to the lead 101 and ferrite chip 102), (fig. 1, [0094 and 0098]).
Kaneda et al (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2024/0152220) teaches
wherein the elastic portion includes a first elastic body (51c), a second elastic body (61), and one other elastic body (17), the first elastic body, the second elastic body, and the one of other elastic body each being elastically deformed (i.e. elastic component 51c, ring-shaped elastic component 17 and first electrode 61 are elastic material and hence deformable) by retraction of the movable portion (4), (fig. 2, [0029, 0033, 0049 and 0059]), and
wherein the first elastic body (51c), the one other elastic body (17), and the second elastic body (61) are provided adjacent to each other in this order with respect to the movable portion (4), (fig. 2, [0024]).
However, none of the prior art of record teaches alone or in combination the limitation “the first elastic body, the second elastic body, and the one or the plurality of other elastic bodies each being elastically deformed by retraction of the movable portion to reduce a thickness in the advancing and retracting directions” and “stiffnesses of the first elastic body, the one or more other elastic bodies, and the second elastic body increase in this order.”
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/LONG D PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623