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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shepelev [2021/0055826].
Regarding claim 1, Shepelev teaches:
A capacitive sensing knob apparatus, comprising: a knob electrode area, which comprises: multiple first ring electrodes, which are disposed at a circumference of a first circle evenly, area sizes of each the first ring electrodes are identical shapes of each the first ring electrodes are similar and pointing to a center of the first circle [fig. 7b, first electrodes in inner ring];
and a second ring electrode, which is disposed at a circumference of a second circle, wherein the first circle and the second circle are concentric circles [fig. 7b, second electrodes middle ring];
and a knob which is rotatable around the center [fig. 2],
wherein the knob comprises a first knob electrode, when the knob is oriented to a first angle, the first knob electrode simultaneously covers parts of the two adjacent first ring electrodes and a part of the second ring electrode [fig. 6a, knob electrodes 721-723]
Regarding claim 2, Shepelev teaches:
wherein the knob electrode area comprises N first ring electrodes, where N is a natural number larger than or equals to 3, where N is a positive integer equals to or larger than 3 [fig. 7b, note even inner ring has at least 6 electrodes],
wherein when the knob is oriented to the first angle, the first knob electrode simultaneously covers parts of the (N-1) adjacent first ring electrodes and a part of the second ring electrode, one of the first ring electrodes is uncovered [fig. 7b, note knob can be rotated to meet this arrangement].
Regarding claim 3, Shepelev teaches:
wherein when the knob is oriented to a second angle, the first knob electrode simultaneously covers one of the first ring electrodes and a part of the second ring electrode [fig. 7b, note knob can be rotated to meet this arrangement].
Regarding claim 4, Shepelev further teaches:
wherein the knob electrode area further comprises one or more third ring electrodes, which are disposed at a circumference of a third circle evenly, wherein the first, the second, and the third circles are concentric circles, a diameter of the third circle is larger than a diameter of the second circle, the diameter of the second circle is larger than a diameter of the first circle [fig. 7b, note inner, middle and outer ring areas]
Regarding claim 5, Shepelev teaches:
wherein the third ring electrodes included in the knob electrode area are disposed at the circumference of the third circle, area sizes of each the third ring electrodes are identical, shapes of each the third ring electrodes are similar and pointing to a center of the third circle [fig. 7b, note outer ring electrode areas].
Regarding claim 6, Shepelev further teaches:
wherein when the first knob electrode is pressed, at least one distance between the first knob electrode and one of the third ring electrodes is reduced accordingly [figs. 4a-4b]
Regarding claim 7, Shepelev teaches:
wherein a diameter of the first circle is larger than a diameter of the second circle [fig. 7b, note innermost circle and immediately adjacent ring].
Regarding claim 8, Shepelev teaches:
wherein a shape of the second ring electrode is a round pie containing a center of the second circle [fig. 7b, note innermost circle].
Regarding claim 9, Shepelev teaches:
wherein an area size of the second ring electrode covered by the first knob electrode is identical no matter any orientation angle pointed by the knob [[fig. 7b, note innermost circle and electrode 713]
Regarding claim 10, Shepelev further teaches:
further comprises a connecting mechanism which is configured to selectively set a vertical distance between the first knob electrode and the second ring electrode at either a first distance or a second distance, wherein the first distance is shorter than the second distance [figs. 4a-4b]
Regarding claim 11, Shepelev further teaches:
a connecting mechanism which is configured to selectively set a vertical distance between the first knob electrode and the second ring electrode between a first distance and a second distance, wherein the first distance is shorter than the second distance, wherein when the knob is not pressed by the user, the connecting mechanism set the vertical distance to the second distance [figs. 4a-4b]
Regarding claim 12, Shepelev teaches:
a connecting mechanism which is configured to selectively couple or to decouple the knob and the knob electrode area [figs. 4a-4b]
Regarding claim 13, Shepelev teaches:
wherein the first ring electrodes of the knob electrode area are collocated in a same layer with multiple first electrodes of a touch panel in parallel to a first axis, the second ring electrode of the knob electrode area are collocated in a same layer with multiple second electrodes of the touch panel in parallel to a second axis [fig. 7b, note rings located on same plane]
Regarding claim 14, Shepelev further teaches:
wherein the multiple first ring electrodes and the second ring electrode are collocated in a same layer [fig. 7b, note rings located on same plane]
Regarding claim 15, Shepelev further teaches:
wherein the knob further comprises a second knob electrode which is in parallel with the first knob electrode, wherein the second knob electrode is electrically coupled to the first knob electrode, the first knob electrode is closer to the knob electrode area than the second knob electrode [fig. 7b, note electrode 721].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-22 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 16-18 and 21, the prior art of record does not teach “…an interconnection network module, configured for connecting the multiple first ring electrodes and the second ring electrode; a sensing circuit module, configured for connecting to the first ring electrodes via the interconnection network module; a driving circuit module, configured for connecting to the second ring electrode via the interconnection network module; and a processor module, configured for executing instructions stored in non-volatile memory to realize following steps: having the driving circuit module transmit driving signals to the second ring electrode; having the sensing circuit module sense the driving signals induced by the first ring electrodes to generate sensed values, respectively; calculating an orientation angle of the knob according to the sensed values; and reporting the orientation angle of the knob to a host.”
Regarding claims 19 and 22, the prior art does not teach “…an interconnection network module, configured for connecting the multiple first ring electrodes and the second ring electrode; a sensing circuit module, configured for connecting to the first ring electrodes via the interconnection network module; a driving circuit module, configured for connecting to the second ring electrode via the interconnection network module; and a processor module, configured for executing instructions stored in non-volatile memory to realize following steps: having the interconnection network module connect the one or more third ring electrodes to ground potential or a direct current potential; having the driving circuit module transmit driving signals to the second ring electrode; having the sensing circuit module sense the driving signals induced by the first ring electrodes to generate sensed values, respectively; calculating an orientation angle of the knob according to the sensed values; and reporting the orientation angle of the knob to a host.”
Regarding claim 20, the prior art does not teach “…an interconnection network module, configured for connecting the multiple first ring electrodes and the second ring electrode; a sensing circuit module, configured for connecting to the first ring electrodes and the third ring electrodes via the interconnection network module; a driving circuit module, configured for connecting to the second ring electrode via the interconnection network module; and a processor module, configured for executing instructions stored in non-volatile memory to realize following steps: having the interconnection network module connect the one or more third ring electrodes to ground potential or a direct current potential; having the driving circuit module transmit driving signals to the second ring electrode; having the sensing circuit module sense the driving signals induced by the first ring electrodes to generate sensed values, respectively; having the sensing circuit module sense the driving signals induced by the third ring electrodes to generate second sensed values, respectively; calculating an orientation angle of the knob according to the sensed values; calculating a direction which the knob being pressed according to the second sensed values; and reporting the orientation angle of the knob and the direction to a host.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Chiu et. al [2020/0073492], Shimada [2016/0004367] and Orsley et. al. 2007/0247421]. Each of these references teach a digital knob rotation and input device.
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/ANDREW SASINOWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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