DETAILED ACTION
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 § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
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.
Claims 1-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Publication 20180036198 to Mergl in view of WO 2018152476 to Gummin.
As to claim 1, Mergl discloses A method for an actuator including a contracting member (9, Fig 18,19, alt Fig 16/17), comprising: activating and deactivating the contracting member so that the actuator morphs between activated and relaxed configurations, thereby providing a vibration effect (Fig 16-19; Par 0026, Par 0056, Par 0077-0080).
While Mergl does not go into much detail about the control of the actuator to achieve the massage function and its level of vibration Gummin discloses how a shape memory alloy can be heated and cooled with regards to the phase transition temperature to create a vibration massage which can be tailored based on the control of the heating of the shape memory wire (Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Mergle is actuated wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above a phase transition temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature, and is done so to tailor the use experience by the user using the teachings of Gummin to create an aesthetic experience effectively tailored to the needs of the user using a reliable and predictable actuation mechanism for vibration.
As to claim 2, Mergl discloses wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above an activation temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature (Par 0077-0080).
While Mergl does not expressly use the term phase transition temperature Gummin discloses how a shape memory alloy can be heated and cooled with regards to the phase transition temperature to create a vibration massage which can be tailored based on the control of the heating of the shape memory wire (Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Mergle is actuated wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above a phase transition temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature, and is done so to tailor the use experience by the user using the teachings of Gummin to create an aesthetic experience effectively tailored to the needs of the user using a reliable and predictable actuation mechanism for vibration.
As to claim 3, Mergl discloses when the contracting member is heated above the phase transition temperature (9), the contracting member contracts (Fig 16-19), thereby causing the actuator to morph into the activated configuration in which a dimension of the actuator increases (height, of actuation surface 4c/12 increases as 9 contracts (Fig 16-19).
As to claim 4, Mergl discloses the dimension corresponds to a height of the actuator (Fig 16-19).
As to claim 5, Mergl discloses causing the contracting member to cool is performed just after a temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature, and wherein subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature is performed just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the phase transition temperature (Mergle: Par 0077-0080 as pulse modified by Gummin: Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 4, Line 7-14;Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7).
As to claim 6, Mergl discloses just after the temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature and/or just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the transition temperature is temporal based or temperature based (Gummin : Page 4, Line 7-14, Page 9, Line 20-25, Page 11, Line 10-21, Page 14, line 11-18, Page 15, Line 1-8).
As to claim 7, Mergl discloses just after the temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature and/or just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the transition temperature is electrical characteristic based (Gummin : Page 4, Line 7-14, Page 9, Line 20-25, Page 11, Line 10-21, Page 14, line 11-18, Page 15, Line 1-8).
As to claim 8, Mergl discloses activating and deactivating the contracting member so that the actuator morphs between activated and relaxed configurations occurs substantially without a displacement change of the actuator (Gummin: Col 11, line 14-21, Col 1, line 18-20) so as to achieve different levels of vibration including low impact vibration tailored to users needs.
As to claim 9, Mergl discloses the contracting member is a shape memory material member (Mergl :Par 0027)(Gummin:Abs).
As to claim 10, Mergl discloses wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member is performed responsive to a user input or autonomously (Gummin: Page 19, Line 11-16).
As to claim 11, Mergl discloses activating and/or deactivating the contracting member so that the actuator morphs to provide a pushing effect or a massaging effect (Fig 16-19; Par 0077-0080; Abs).
As to claim 12, Mergl discloses A system comprising: an actuator including a contracting member (Fig 16-19); and a processor operatively connected to activate and deactivate the contracting member so that the actuator morphs between activated and relaxed configurations, thereby providing a vibration effect (Par 0037,0053).
While Mergl does not go into much detail about the control of the actuator to achieve the massage function and its level of vibration Gummin discloses how a shape memory alloy can be heated and cooled with regards to the phase transition temperature to create a vibration massage which can be tailored based on the control of the heating of the shape memory wire (Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7; Controller Par 1, line 10-20).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Mergle is actuated wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above a phase transition temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature, and is done so to tailor the use experience by the user using the teachings of Gummin to create an aesthetic experience effectively tailored to the needs of the user using a reliable and predictable actuation mechanism for vibration.
As to claim 13, Mergl discloses wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above an activation temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature (Par 0077-0080).
While Mergl does not expressly use the term phase transition temperature Gummin discloses how a shape memory alloy can be heated and cooled with regards to the phase transition temperature to create a vibration massage which can be tailored based on the control of the heating of the shape memory wire (Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that Mergle is actuated wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member includes: causing the contracting member to be heated above a phase transition temperature; causing the contracting member to cool; and subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature, and is done so to tailor the use experience by the user using the teachings of Gummin to create an aesthetic experience effectively tailored to the needs of the user using a reliable and predictable actuation mechanism for vibration.
As to claim 14, Mergl discloses when the contracting member is heated above the phase transition temperature (9), the contracting member contracts (Fig 16-19), thereby causing the actuator to morph into the activated configuration in which a dimension of the actuator increases (height, of actuation surface 4c/12 increases as 9 contracts (Fig 16-19).
As to claim 15, Mergl discloses the dimension corresponds to a height of the actuator (Fig 16-19).
As to claim 16, Mergl discloses causing the contracting member to cool is performed just after a temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature, and wherein subsequently causing the contracting member to be heated above the phase transition temperature is performed just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the phase transition temperature (Mergle: Par 0077-0080 as pulse modified by Gummin: Page 3, Line 9-20; Page 4, Line 7-14;Page 14, line 11-Page 16 Line 7).
As to claim 17, Mergl discloses just after the temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature and/or just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the transition temperature is temporal based or temperature based (Gummin : Page 4, Line 7-14, Page 9, Line 20-25, Page 11, Line 10-21, Page 14, line 11-18, Page 15, Line 1-8).
As to claim 18, Mergl discloses just after the temperature of the contracting member rises above the phase transition temperature and/or just after the temperature of the contracting member falls below the transition temperature is electrical characteristic based (Gummin : Page 4, Line 7-14, Page 9, Line 20-25, Page 11, Line 10-21, Page 14, line 11-18, Page 15, Line 1-8).
As to claim 19, Mergl discloses activating and deactivating the contracting member so that the actuator morphs between activated and relaxed configurations occurs substantially without a displacement change of the actuator (Gummin: Col 11, line 14-21, Col 1, line 18-20) so as to achieve different levels of vibration including low impact vibration tailored to users needs.
As to claim 20, Mergl discloses an energy source operatively connected to supply energy to the contracting member, wherein the processor is operatively connected to the energy source, and wherein the processor is configured to control a supply of energy to the contracting member (Mergl: Par 0037,0053, 0080)(Gummin: Controller Par 1, line 10-20, Page 2, Line 9-13).
As to claim 21, Mergl discloses the contracting member is a shape memory material member (Mergl :Par 0027)(Gummin:Abs).
As to claim 22, Mergl discloses wherein activating and deactivating the contracting member is performed responsive to a user input or autonomously (Gummin: Page 19, Line 11-16).
As to claim 23, Mergl discloses the processor activating and/or deactivating the contracting member so that the actuator morphs to provide a pushing effect or a massaging effect (Fig 16-19; Par 0077-0080; Abs)(Gummin: Par 1, line 10-20).
Note
It is noted by examiner that terms such as “just” or “slight” or “substantially” are described in the specification and are not indefinite, such as in Paragraphs 0059 and 0080 to give range limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE SAMUEL BOGUE whose telephone number is (571)270-1406. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-5:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached on 571-270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JESSE S BOGUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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