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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (TWM347886U) in view of Tran (9,999,309). Lin discloses (claim 1) a portable chopstick, comprising two-piece chopsticks, wherein the two-piece chopsticks comprise: an upper chopstick body 10 having a lower end joint block 42; a lower chopstick body 20 having an opposite upper end joint groove 32; and a chopstick body aligning structure 30,40, which is separated into two parts 30,40 and precisely positioned in the upper chopstick body 10 and the lower chopstick body 20 respectively, wherein, the upper chopstick body 10 and the lower chopstick body 20 are made of different materials; when the lower end joint block 42 of the upper chopstick body 10 is locked with the upper end joint groove 32 of the lower chopstick body 20, the upper chopstick body 10 is aligned with the lower chopstick body 20 through the chopstick body aligning structure 30,40 at their four sides. Lin does not disclose square chopsticks with four sides and that the upper chopstick body and the lower chopstick body are made of different materials.
Regarding Claim 9, Lin discloses a portable chopstick, comprising two-piece chopsticks, wherein the two-piece chopsticks comprises: an upper chopstick body 10 having a lower end joint block 42; a lower chopstick body 20 having an opposite upper end joint groove 32; and a chopstick body aligning structure 30,40, which is separated into two parts and precisely positioned in the upper chopstick body 10 and the lower chopstick body 20 respectively, wherein, when the lower end joint block 42 of the upper chopstick body 10 is locked with the upper end joint groove 32 of the lower chopstick body 20, the upper chopstick body 10 is aligned with the lower chopstick body 20 through the chopstick body aligning structure 30,40. Lin does not disclose polygonal chopsticks having multiple side wherein the upper chopstick body and the lower chopstick body is made of different materials
Tran teaches for a portable chopstick with an upper chopstick body 12, a lower chopstick body 10, and a chopstick body aligning structure 11, and that the chopsticks are square/polygonal chopsticks with four/multiple sides (Figs. 1 and 2) and that the upper chopstick body 12 and the lower chopstick body 10 are made of different materials for the purposes of providing a lighter chopstick that pivots to keep an eating portion elevated. See Tran Abstract.
Since Lin and Tran are both in the same field of endeavor the purpose disclosed by Tran would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Lin. It would have been obvious at a time before the invention was effectively filed to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the portable chopsticks of Lin to be square chopsticks with four sides and that the upper chopstick body and the lower chopstick body are made of different materials for the purposes of providing a lighter chopstick that pivots to keep an eating portion elevated.
Claims 2, 3, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin and Tran, as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and further in view of Hee (KR20180057407). Lin discloses that (claims 2 and 10) the upper chopstick body is fitted with a first part of the chopstick body aligning structure, and a portion of the first part forms the lower end joint block. The patentability of fitting the upper chopstick body with a first part of the chopstick aligning structure does not require the injection molding process. See MPEP 2113 Product By Process claims. Lin does not disclose that the upper chopstick body is made of plastics.
Hee teaches for a portable chopstick with an upper chopstick body 200, a lower chopstick body 100, and a chopstick body aligning structure 220 and that (claims 2 and 10) the upper chopstick body 200 is made of plastics for the purposes of improving the gripping force between a food grip portion and a handle portion.
Since Lin, Tran, and Hee are all in the same field of endeavor the purpose disclosed by Hee would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Lee. It would have been obvious at a time before the invention was effectively filed to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the portable chopsticks of Lee such that the upper chopstick body is made of plastics for the purposes of improving the gripping force between a food grip portion and a handle portion.
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Lin discloses that the first part is extended along the upper chopstick body 10 and comprises a fitting portion 41, a protrusion 43,44 and a screw portion 42; the fitting portion 41 is positioned in the upper chopstick body 10; the protrusion 43,44 is protruded between the fitting portion 41 and the screw portion 42, and a cross-sectional dimension of the protrusion 43,44 matches a cross-sectional dimension of the upper chopstick body 10 (Fig. 1); the screw portion 42 is extended outside the upper chopstick body and has an external thread (Figs. 1 and 3).
Claims 4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin, Tran, and Hee as applied to claims 3 and 11 above. Lin, as modified discloses all of the claimed subject matter except that the first part is a metal piece. The patentability of the first metal part does not require forming through a machining of a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. See MPEP 2113 Product By Process claims.
Since the applicant has not disclosed that having the first part being a metal piece solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that it forms the first part of the chopstick body aligning structure and it appears that the first part of Lin would perform equally well as a metal piece as claimed by applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of engineering expedience to further modify first part of Lin to be a metal piece as claimed for the purposes of attaching the upper chopstick body to the lower chopstick body.
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other two piece chopsticks with aligning structures.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 and 13-16 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 improvement comprises (claims 5 and 13) a plastic injection piece of the lower chopstick body is fitted with a second part of the chopstick body aligning structure and (claims 8 and 16) that each of the two parts of the chopstick body aligning structure has an aligning mark; when the upper chopstick body is locked with the lower chopstick body, the two aligning marks are located on a straight line.
Claims 17-19 are allowed. The improvement comprises (claim 17) that each of the first part and the second part has an aligning mark; when the two pieces of chopstick body are tightly locked through the engagement groove and the engagement block, the two aligning marks are located on a straight line.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Thomas Lazo whose telephone number is (571) 272-4818. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor Nathaniel Wiehe, can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/THOMAS E LAZO/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3745
December 3, 2025