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 § 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 of this title, 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.
3. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
4 . Claim 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki (US6972396) in view of Nemoto (US2022/0226968).
As to Claim 1, Miyazaki discloses a tweezer device comprising a first housing and a second housing. See Fig 1a, Fig 1b, Fig 2a and Fig 2b, col 4 line 45-48 “the upper side sleeve (6a) is movable relative to the housing(2) while the lower side sleeve(6b) is fixed on the housing(2).
5. Miyazaki discloses a first socket(5), Exhibit A, see Fig 2a and Fig 2b arranged in said first housing into which a proximal end of a first tip can be inserted; col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)"
Exhibit A
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6. Miyazaki discloses a second socket(5), Exhibit B, see Fig 2a and Fig 2b, arranged in said second housing(6b) into which a proximal end of a second tip can be inserted; col 5 line 63 "a socket(5), col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)".
7. Miyazaki discloses a displace mechanism(6a) for displacing said first socket(5) in a longitudinal direction of the said rotation shaft; See Fig 1a(open position of leg and socket) and Fig 1b(closed position of leg and socket), col 6 line 45 'When the movable leg(3a) is inserted into the movable sleeve(6a), see Fig 2a and Fig 2b, col 5 line 63 "a socket(5)”, col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)", col 6 line 51 "The plug(32) is formed with a flat portion(35) at its rear end to determine the rotational position of the movable leg(3a) relative to the movable sleeve at the portion of the plug", col 5 line 5 “The switching lever(8) is fixed on a supporting shaft (9) to turn therewith around the axis of the supporting shaft(9) for switching the biasing condition”.
Exhibit B
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8. Miyazaki discloses a support member(32) that functions as a rotating fulcrum for said first tip so that said distal end of said first tip, said proximal end of which is inserted into said first socket(5), is displaced in said longitudinal direction of said rotation shaft by the displacement of said first socket(5) in said longitudinal direction of said rotation shaft; see Fig 3a and Fig 3b, col 6 line 51 "The plug(32) is formed with a flat plane(35) at its rear end to determine the rotational position of the movable leg(3a) relative to the movable sleeve at the portion of the plug(32)"
Exhibit C
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9. Miyazaki discloses and said first housing(2) having an internal space, see Fig 4b and Fig 5, that allows displacement of said first socket(5), see Fig 1a(open position of leg and socket) and Fig 1b(closed position of leg and socket), in the said longitudinal direction of the said rotation shaft.
10. Miyazaki does not explicitly disclose a tweezer device comprising; a first housing and a second housing wherein said first housing and said second housing rotate about a rotation shaft so that a distance between a distal end of the said first housing and a distal end of the said second housing can be changed .
Exhibit D
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11. Nemoto. discloses A tweezer device comprising; a first housing(12a) and a second housing(12b), wherein said first housing and said second housing rotate about a rotation shaft (19) so that a distance between a distal end of the said first housing and a distal end of the said second housing can be changed; See Fig 1, paragraph 43 line 1-3 "The tweezers device (10) includes a housing (12), having a first housing (12a) on the side where the first tip (4a) is held, a second housing (12b) on the side where the second tip 2 is held", Abstract "and a rotating shaft to rotably connect the first leg and second leg" Claim 14, paragraph 8 line 5 "a rotating shaft to rotably connect said first leg and said second leg" paragraph 8 line 9 "first distal end of said first leg and said second distal end of said second leg"
12. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine a rotating shaft(19) of Nemoto (US2022/0226968) as modification to Miyazaki (US6972396) to prevent twisting of the first housing and the second housing hence avoiding early damage of the tweezer device and prolonging it’s life span. See Fig 2, paragraph 44 line 6-7 “and rotating shaft(19) to rotably connect the first leg(16) and the second leg(18)”.
13. As to Claim 2, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1.
14.. Miyazaki further teaches, wherein said support member(32) is configured to hold said first tip(4a) having said proximal end inserted into said first socket(5) and a point of said first tip held by said support member(32), see (Exhibit C) serves as a rotating center of the first tip, see Fig 1a, Fig 1b,Fig 4a and Fig 4b, col 6 line 51 "The plug(32) is formed with a flat plane(35) at its rear end to determine the rotational position of the movable leg(3a) relative to the movable sleeve at the portion of the plug(32)".
15. As to Claim 3, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1.
16. Miyazaki further discloses said displacement mechanism(6a), see Fig 1a(open position of leg and socket) and Fig 1b(closed position of leg and socket), col 6 line 45 'When the movable leg(3a) is inserted into the movable sleeve(6a)”, See Fig 2a and Fig 2b, col 5 line 63 "a socket(5), col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)".
17. Miyazaki further discloses a rotable operating member(10), see Fig 1a and 1b, col 5 line 13 “by holding the knob(10). The switching lever knob(10) may be labelled with marks “N” and “R” to indicate a set biasing condition”.
18. Miyazaki further discloses a shaft that rotates(9)when said operating member(10) rotates, see Fig 1a and 1b, col 5 line 5-6 “The switching lever(8) is fixed on a supporting shaft(9), col 5 line 6-7 “a supporting shaft(9) to turn therewith around the axis of the supporting shaft.
19. Miyazaki further discloses a socket receiving member(22) into which said first socket(5) is inserted, see Fig 1a, Fig 1b, Fig 2a and Fig2b.
20. Nemoto further discloses a longitudinal direction of said rotation shaft(19) by orbital rotation of said shaft(19), paragraph 8 line 5 "a rotating shaft to rotable connect said first leg and said second leg" paragraph 8 line 9 "first distal end of said first leg and said second distal end of said second leg",
21. As to Claim 4, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) teaches all of the limitations of Claim 3.
22. Miyazaki further discloses a socket receiving member(22) to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip(4a) into said first socket(5), said socket receiving member(22) receives said first socket(5) such that said first socket(5) is displaceable relative to said socket receiving member(22) in the said insertion direction of said first tip(4a), see Fig 1a, 1b, Fig 2a and 2b, col 5 line 5-6 “The switching lever(8) is fixed on a supporting shaft(9)”, col 5 line 6-7 “a supporting shaft(9) to turn therewith around the axis of the supporting shaft”, col 5 line 64 “and a leg fixing chuck(22)” , see Fig 2a and Fig 2b, show arranged in said first housing into which a proximal end of a first tip can be inserted; col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)".
23. Miyazaki does not explicitly disclose a stopper member for restricting displacement of said socket receiving member to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip into said first socket.
24. Nemoto further discloses a stopper member(33c), col 16 line 1-12 "In the above tweezers device, the width adjusting wheel may be in contact with a surface of the first leg opposite to the second leg. In this case, the open width adjusting means may include a stopper" col 54 line 1-2 "A protrusion 17c is provided on the top portion 17b, and the protrusion 17c can engage with the convex stopper 18e".
25. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine a stopper mechanism(33c) of Nemoto (US2022/0226968) as modification to Miyazaki (US6972396) for restricting displacement (see Exhibit D), of socket receiving member to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip into said first socket hence enhancing independent movement of the first socket inside the first housing directly solving the problem of grip feel, paragraph 62 line 6 “together with the width adjusting wheel 33(b), and a displacement means (33d) to change the position of the width adjusting wheel (33b) against the shaft (33a). Paragraph 23 lines 1-4 “include a position adjusting wheel. In this case, upon rotation of the position adjusting wheel, it may adjust the position between the first distal end and the second distal end in the direction orthogonal to the virtual plane formed by the movement trace of the first leg and the second leg, paragraph 88 line 4 “The acceptable opening width of the first leg or the first bias portion and second leg or the second bias portion is adjusted by the width adjusting wheel and the stopper(33e).
26. As to Claim 5, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 1.
27. Nemoto further discloses adjusting member(33b) held by said first housing for displacing said first socket in an insertion direction of the first tip; see Exhibit (D), paragraph 61 line 2-3 "The acceptable opening width between (16d) and (18d) may be regulated by the width adjusting wheel (33b)”, paragraph 62 line 4 "a width adjusting wheel (33b) for performing the adjustment of allowable width", paragraph 67 lines 1-3 "The width adjusting wheel (33b) is provided in the wheel holding portion (first wheel holding portion) (16f) formed on the first leg (16), and is rotatably held in position by the first wheel holding portion and the first housing (12a)", paragraph 70 line 1-3 "The tweezers device (10) further includes an adjusting member (36) which adjust the relative position between the first distal end (16d) of the first leg (16) and the second distal end (18d) of the second leg (18) in the extending direction of the rotating shaft (19)".
28. Nemoto further discloses said housing has a restricting member(33d) that restricts displacement of said adjusting member, see Exhibit D, paragraph 62 line 10 “and a displacement means(33d) to change the position of the width adjusting wheel(33b) against the shaft (33a)”.
29. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine an adjustment member and restricting member that restricts displacement of said adjustment member of Nemoto (US2022/0226968) as modification to Miyazaki (US6972396) to enable the easy operation of the tweezer device, paragraph 15 line 11 “That is, it is easy to operate the width adjustment wheel with the hand holding tweezer”.
30. As to Claim 6, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 2.
31. Miyazaki further discloses said support member(32) member comprising an O-ring made of a heat-resistant material and arranged to hold first tip. See Fig 2a, col 5 line 64-68 "O-ring(21) and a leg fixing chuck(22) are assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the leg are flexibly held by the sleeves respectively with portions of the legs fitted in the sockets(5). An LED(20) is provided on the rear downward position of the housing(2) to indicate whether the heaters built in the legs have been calibrated with respect to their heat or temperature”.
32. As to Claim 7, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 3.
33. Miyazaki further discloses support member(32) provided on first housing, said first socket(5) or said socket receiving member(22). See Fig 2a and Fig 2b, col 5 line 63 "a socket(5), col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)", see Fig 2a-b and Fig 3a-b, shows, a first housing, a first socket arranged in said first housing into which the approximal end of the first tip can be inserted. See Fig 3a and Fig 3b, col 6 line 51 "The plug(32) is formed with a flat plane(35) at its rear end to determine the rotational position of the movable leg(3a) relative to the movable sleeve at the portion of the plug(32)", col 5 line 64 “and a leg fixing chuck(22) , see Fig 2a and Fig 2b, shows, said first housing into which a proximal end of a first tip can be inserted; col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)".
34. As to Claim 8, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 2.
Miyazaki further discloses said displace mechanism(6a) includes a rotatable operating member(10), a shaft that rotates(9) when said operating member rotates(10), and a socket receiving member(22) into which said first socket(5) is inserted. See Fig 2a-b and Fig 3a-b, shows, a first socket arranged in said first housing into which the approximal end of the first tip can be rotably inserted.
35. Nemoto further discloses a longitudinal direction of said rotation shaft(19) by orbital rotation of said shaft(19), paragraph 8 line 5 "a rotating shaft to rotably connect said first leg and said second leg" paragraph 8 line 9 "first distal end of said first leg and said second distal end of said second leg".
36. As to Claim 9, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 8.
37. Miyazaki further discloses a socket receiving member(22) to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip(4a) into said first socket(5), said socket receiving member(22) receives said first socket(5) such that said first socket(5) is displaceable relative to said socket receiving member(22) in the said insertion direction of said first tip(4a), see Fig 1a, 1b, Fig 2a and 2b, col 5 line 5-6 “The switching lever(8) is fixed on a supporting shaft(9)”, col 5 line 6-7 “a supporting shaft(9) to turn therewith around the axis of the supporting shaft”, col 5 line 64 “and a leg fixing chuck(22)” , see Fig 2a and Fig 2b show arranged in said first housing into which a proximal end of a first tip can be inserted; col 5 line 64 "assembled in the interior of each sleeve and the legs(3)".Miyazaki does not explicitly disclose a stopper member for restricting displacement of said socket receiving member to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip into said first socket.
39. Nemoto further discloses a stopper member for restricting displacement(33c), paragraph 16 line 1-4 "In the above tweezers device, the width adjusting wheel(33b) may be in contact with a surface of the first leg opposite to the second leg. In this case, the open width adjusting means may include a stopper" paragraph 54 line 1-2 "A protrusion 17c is provided on the top portion 17b, and the protrusion 17c can engage with the convex stopper 18e".
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine a stopper mechanism(33c) of Nemoto (US2022/0226968) as modification to Miyazaki (US6972396) for restricting displacement (see Exhibit D), of socket receiving member to prevent displacement in a direction of insertion of said first tip into said first socket hence enhancing independent movement of the first socket inside the first housing directly solving the problem of grip feel, paragraph 62 line 6 “together with the width adjusting wheel 33(b), and a displacement means (33d) to change the position of the width adjusting wheel (33b) against the shaft (33a)”, paragraph 23 lines 1-4 “include a position adjusting wheel. In this case, upon rotation of the position adjusting wheel, it may adjust the position between the first distal end and the second distal end in the direction orthogonal to the virtual plane formed by the movement trace of the first leg and the second leg”, paragraph 88 line 4 “The acceptable opening width of the first leg or the first bias portion and second leg or the second bias portion is adjusted by the width adjusting wheel and the stopper(33e)”.
32. As to Claim 10, the combination of Miyazaki (US 6972396) and Nemoto (US2022/0226968) discloses all of the limitations of Claim 9.
33. Miyazaki further discloses said support member(32), see (Exhibit C) serves as a rotating center of the first tip., see Fig 1a, Fig 1b,Fig 4a and Fig 4b, col 6 line 51 "The plug(32) is formed with a flat plane(35) at its rear end to determine the rotational position of the movable leg(3a) relative to the movable sleeve at the portion of the plug(32)", see Fig 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b, col 4 line 45-48 “the upper side sleeve (6a) is movable relative to the housing(2) while the lower side sleeve(6b) is fixed on the housing(2). The support member(32) is located relative to the movable sleeve which is the upper sleeve(6a) with the movable leg(3a) in the first housing and first socket.
34. Miyazaki further discloses said first housing (12), first socket(5), or said socket receiving member(22), see Fig 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b.
Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL T KIO whose telephone number is (571)270-0743. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8a.m -5 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert T Hodge can be reached at 571-272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MTK./Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/ROBERT W HODGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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