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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/16/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendments to claims 1, 3, 5, 12, and 15-16 are acknowledged. The amendment to claim 16 overcomes the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claim 16, and this rejection is accordingly withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/16/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Goeller as used in the rejection of claim 1, Applicant asserts that Goeller does not disclose that either of the two phase indicator wheels 100 and 110 "comprise[s] the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed" or "point[s] to the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed." However, the rejection of claim 1 did not include 100 and 110 alone as the element meeting the limitation of the indicator. Elements 10 and 20 of Goeller were included as part of the indicator in the previous rejection of claim 1 and again in this Office Action. These elements, comprised as part of the indicator, are disclosed as forming the succession of indications [0027] [figs. 9-10]. Accordingly, Goeller does disclose this limitation of claim 1.
Applicant asserts that Goeller is silent as to the acting of the arms of the double level on the cams 90/80 resetting the moon phase disc 20 to a predetermined reference position. However, Goeller provides in paragraph [0026] that the cams are used for returning the two phase indicator wheels to zero. Accordingly, Goeller does disclose this limitation of claim 1.
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.
Claims 1-8, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over et al. Goeller (US 20160349705 A1) in view of Zaugg (CH 703546 B1).
Regarding Claim 1, Goeller discloses a device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable (moon phases) [abstract] for a timepiece [0003], this display device comprising:
an indicator (combination of 20, 30, 100, 110, and moon wheel) [0025, 0027] [fig. 6, fig. 7] which comprises the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed or which points to the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed (carries the succession of indications by carrying moon phase disc 20) [0027], the indicator being arranged to be driven by a horological movement [0027];
an actuating device (500), and
a mechanism for positioning the indicator in a reference position comprising at least a cam (80, 90) on which acts the actuating device (actuating device selects which cam is actuated upon for the selected hemisphere) [0047, 0048] wherein, based on the actuating device being actuated on the at least one cam, the mechanism for positioning the indicator resets a position of the indicator from any of the plurality of positions to a predetermined reference position (returning to zero position) [0026].
Goeller discloses that the indicator displays the moon phases and is driven by a 59-tooth moon wheel such as known in the art, but does not explicitly disclose that the indicator is arranged so as to move among a plurality of positions from an initial position to a final position through a succession of intermediate positions in which the display of the time variable passes from one indication to the next indication at a required frequency.
Zaugg discloses that for a moon phase display mechanism it is conventional that a moon wheel with 59 teeth is driven step by step by a finger or a pin integral with a driving wheel making a turn in 24 hours [0003] thus providing that the moon phase indicator progresses through a succession of positions from a first to a last in a complete lunation before returning to the initial position at a frequency of 24 hours.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the known technique disclosed by Zaugg to the disclosed prior art device of Goeller. The prior art of Goeller provides a “base” device for a device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable, particularly the moon phase, for which the claimed invention can be seen as an “improvement” only because it specifies that the indicator moves from an initial position to a final position through a series of intermediate positions at a required frequency. This is already most likely an obvious aspect to a moon phase display device for a timepiece, since the phases of the moon operate in such a manner. But for sake of completeness, Zaugg discloses that is a conventional and well understood technique for a moon phase display to both progress through the positions required by claim 1 and do so at a rate of once every 24 hours. A person having ordinary skill in the art would easily recognize that the known technique of Zaugg would be an obvious part of what is already disclosed in Goeller but in any case the technique would have a reasonable expectation of success when implemented with Goeller.
Regarding Claim 2, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 1, and Goeller further discloses that the cam is a heart-piece or a snail [fig. 6], the positioning of the cam, relative to the indicator, determines the predetermined reference position of the indicator [0047].
Regarding Claim 3, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 2, and Goeller further discloses that the mechanism for positioning the indicator comprises a hammer (54, 42), the hammer being arranged such that, when actuated by the actuating device, the hammer comes into an active position in contact with the heart-piece or snail [0047-0048], so as to pivot the indicator and bring it back into the predetermined reference position (reset to zero) [0026].
Regarding Claim 4, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 3, and Goeller further discloses that wherein the heart-piece or the snail is fixedly mounted on the indicator [0027] [figs. 5-7].
Regarding Claim 5, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 3, and Goeller further discloses that the cam is a heart-piece [fig. 6] or a snail fixedly mounted at a place (axis D) [0027] on a frame of the timepiece (not explicitly stated, but obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art that the axis for the placement of these components would be mounted a plate or frame of the movement/frame of the timepiece where an axis for displaying time variables are provided) and wherein the mechanism for positioning the indicator comprises a hammer (54, 42) mounted on the indicator [fig. 6].
Regarding Claim 6, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 3, and Goeller further discloses that in order for the hammer to be actuated, the actuating device comprises a push button (push-piece) [0044] which acts against the elastic force of a spring arranged to keep the hammer away from the active position in contact with the heart-piece or snail [0044].
Regarding Claim 7, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 2, and Goeller further discloses that the indicator is a 59-tooth moon phase wheel [0025] which carries two moon indications [fig. 6] and which is driven by the horological movement [0046]. Zaugg, as provided in combination with Goeller in claim 1 above, teaches the rate of one step per day [0003].
Regarding Claim 8, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 7, and Goeller provides that the cams carried by indicator wheels are used to returning to zero [0026]. Additionally, Goeller provides that the drive of the moon wheel is conventional and can be used with any ordinary moon phase display. A person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that while Goeller does not explicitly disclose that the return to zero position of the indicator is a full moon there must be a zero position with a finite number of choices for what that zero position must be. The two most obvious zero positions for resetting would be new moon and full moon, based upon what one would consider the start of lunar cycle, and it would have been obvious for the person of ordinary skill in the art to have the predetermined reference position of the moon phase wheel corresponds to the full moon display position because it is obvious to try with two options that are most fitting for a zero position in a lunar cycle.
Regarding Claim 17, Goeller and Zaugg disclose device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable according to claim 1, and Goeller further discloses a timepiece comprising at least one display device according to claim 1 [0003].
Regarding Claim 18, Goeller and Zaugg discloses the timepiece according to claim 17 and Goeller further discloses that it comprises a plurality of display devices (30, 41, 42, and 54 are all devices used in display) arranged such that they can be repositioned simultaneously into the reference position by one and the same action of the user on a single push button (30, 41, and one of 42 or 54 are all simultaneously moved into the reference position depending on the hemisphere selection) [0046-0047].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 15 are allowed.
Claim 16 is 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 an examiner' s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding Claim 14, prior art does not disclose, taken alone or in combination, a device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable for a timepiece comprising a mechanism for positioning the indicator in a reference position comprising a wolf-toothed rack which drives, corrects and brings back, into the reference position, the indicator carrying the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed or pointing to the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed, the driving and correction of the indicator being carried out by driving the wolf-toothed rack by one tooth, the reverse motion whereof is prevented by a pawl, and the positioning of the indicator in a reference position being ensured by actuating the pawl, which releases the wolf-toothed rack, the latter returning to its rest position under the action of a return spring, in which the pawl engages with a tooth provided at the end of this wolf-toothed rack. While prior art readily discloses racks used as mechanism for positioning an indicator in a reference position, none do so with a wolf-toothed rack in combination with a pawl in the manner required by claim 14. Ballouard (WO 2012070009 A1) [fig. 3] provides for a display mechanism for a timepiece including a rack which with Breguet shaped teeth or ratchet teeth, but these are not identical to a wolf-toothed rack which motion blocked by the pawl in one direction but acts as a regular tooth in the other whereas the ratchet tooth could be blocked in one direction but the opposite direction it does not act like a normal tooth but instead slides without driving the component the rack is meshed with.
Regarding Claim 15, prior art such as Goeller discloses positioning into a reference position of an indicator through the user acting on a first button push and a second button push [0044] [0046-0047], however prior art does not disclose, taken alone or in combination, a second push button is arranged to ensure stepped correction of the indicator, independently of the first push button. This limitation on top of the other limitations of claim 1 and claim 15 is not met by any obvious combination of prior art references.
Regarding Claim 16, prior art does not disclose or suggest, taken alone or in combination, a device for displaying a succession of indications of a time variable for a timepiece which meets the limitation “a push button which is arranged to control stepped correction of the indicator upon a second action on the same push button” in addition to all the other limitations of claim 16, including the limitation for the first action on the push button in particular. Goeller further discloses that the positioning, into the reference position, of the indicator carrying the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed or pointing to the succession of indications of the time variable to be displayed is carried out automatically upon a first action on a push button (500) [0044] [0046-0047] which is arranged to respond to a second action on the same push button [0046-0047]. Prior art does not provide an obvious motivation or suggestion to modify the push button of Goeller to be able to perform a stepped correction upon a second action on the same push button and doing so with the many other claimed structures and functions of the device for displaying a succession of indications is not easily accomplished without a clear path for the combination.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN A JOHNSTON whose telephone number is (571)272-4353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 7p.m. ET.
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/KEVIN ANDREW JOHNSTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831
/EDWIN A. LEON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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