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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-5, and 8-10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Piva US 9808049.
Regarding claim 1, Chen Piva discloses a fastening device, comprising:
a case (2);
a spool (3) disposed in the case and configured for a lace to be wound therearound;
a plurality of ratchet teeth (331) inside the case;
a ratchet element (5) pivotally disposed at the case and located at one side of the ratchet teeth along a radial direction, the ratchet element being free from moving along an axial direction, the ratchet element comprising a ratchet arm (51) selectively engaged with at least one of the ratchet teeth; and
a knob (4) disposed at the case;
wherein as the ratchet arm is engaged with at least one of the ratchet teeth, the spool is prohibited to rotate in a releasing direction, and as the knob is rotated in a tensioning direction, the ratchet arm is disengaged from at least one of the ratchet teeth to allow the spool to tension the lace (Figure 2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 3-5, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen 2011/0191992 in view of Piva US 9808049.
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a fastening device, comprising:
a case (3);
a spool (33) disposed in the case and configured for a lace to be wound therearound;
a plurality of ratchet teeth (12) inside the case;
a ratchet element (23), the ratchet element comprising a ratchet arm (231) selectively engaged with at least one of the ratchet teeth; and
a knob (21) disposed at the case;
wherein as the ratchet arm is engaged with at least one of the ratchet teeth, the spool is prohibited to rotate in a releasing direction, and as the knob is rotated in a tensioning direction, the ratchet arm is disengaged from at least one of the ratchet teeth to allow the spool to tension the lace (annotated Fig 2).
PNG
media_image1.png
1101
790
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Chen does not disclose wherein a ratchet element pivotally disposed at the case and located at one side of the ratchet teeth along a radial direction, the ratchet element being free from moving along an axial direction
Piva discloses a ratchet element (Piva, 5) pivotally disposed at the case (Piva, 2) and located at one side of the ratchet teeth along a radial direction, the ratchet element being free from moving along an axial direction.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ratchet element of Chen to be pivotally disposed at the case and located at one side of the ratchet teeth along a radial direction, the ratchet element being free from moving along an axial direction as taught by Piva to reduce the overall vertical dimension of the device (Piva para 42-43)
PNG
media_image2.png
630
714
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, Chen in view of Piva discloses further comprising a plurality of knob teeth (Chen, 24) connected to the knob (Chen, 21), wherein the ratchet element (Chen, 23) further comprises a sliding portion (Chen, 222) located above the ratchet arm (Chen, 231) and corresponding to at least one of the knob teeth, and as the knob is rotated in the releasing direction, at least one of the knob teeth pushes the sliding portion to rotate the ratchet element, and the ratchet element is disengaged from at least one of the ratchet teeth, thereby allowing the lace to be incrementally released (annotated Chen Fig 2, para 24).
Regarding claim 4, Chen in view of Piva discloses wherein the case comprises:
a main-space (annotated Piva Fig 2); and
a sub-space (annotated Piva Fig 2) communicated with the main-space;
wherein the spool is in the main-space, the ratchet element is located in the sub-space, and the ratchet arm extends into the main-space (Piva Fig 2).
Regarding claim 5, Chen on view of Piva discloses a wheel (Chen, 1) disposed within the main-space and selectively coupled to the spool (Chen, 33), the ratchet teeth (Chen 12) being located at the wheel;
wherein the knob is operated to drive the wheel, and the ratchet teeth (Chen, 12) are lifted to allow the spool to rotate in the releasing direction for fully releasing the lace (annotated Chen Fig 2, Para 25).
Regarding claim 8, Chen in view of Piva discloses further comprising a connecting set (Chen, 11) penetrating the spool and coupled to the knob, wherein the spool comprises a positioning portion (annotated, Fig 2), the connecting set penetrates and is coupled to the positioning portion, pulling the knob upward causes the ratchet teeth and the connecting set to move along the axial direction, thereby allowing the spool to rotate in the releasing direction for fully releasing the lace, and the connecting set is positioned by the positioning portion (annotated Fig 2, Para 25).
Regarding claim 9, Chen in view of Piva discloses wherein the case comprises:
an annular wall (annotated Chen Fig 2) surrounding a main-space (annotated Chen Fig 2);
a partition (Chen 32) protruding inward from the annular wall;
and an upper opening (Chen 321) communicated with the main-space;
wherein the spool comprises an upper ring portion (annotated Chen Fig 2), and the partition axially restricts the upper ring portion to prohibit the spool from leaving the main-space from the upper opening (Chen Fig 3),
Regarding claim 10, Chen discloses wherein the case
comprises:
an annular wall (annotated Chen Fig 2) surrounding a main-space (annotated Chen Fig 2);
an inner ring groove (annotated Chen Fig 2) located at the annular wall and communicated with the main-space; and
an upper opening (Chen 321) communicated with the main-space;
wherein the spool comprises a lower ring portion (annotated Chen Fig 2), and the lower ring portion is received in the inner ring groove to prohibit the spool from leaving the main-space from the upper opening (annotated Chen Fig 2).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA SALEM RASHID whose telephone number is (703)756-1113. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00 - 6:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason San can be reached at (571) 272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANNA S RASHID/Examiner, Art Unit 3677
/JASON W SAN/SPE, Art Unit 3677