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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/03/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furomoto (JPH0631459U) in view of Morimoto (JPH0515771U).
Regarding claims 1 and 3, Furomoto discloses a dual bearing fishing reel, comprising: a reel leg; (4; Figures 1-2); a spool (8) around which a fishing line is wound; and a frame main body (1, 2) comprising a left frame (1A) and a right frame (2A) in which the spool (8) is disposed, and three connecting members (3, 5; two 3 members and one 5 member) for connecting the left and right frames (1A, 2A), wherein a geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours of respective contact surfaces (C; see Furomoto annotated Figure 1 below) of the three or more connecting members (3, 5) are in contact with the left and right frames (1A, 2A), and the reel leg (4) is fixed to one (5) of the three or more connecting members (3, 5), but fails to teach wherein the geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours of respective contact surfaces of the three or more connecting members are the same.
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Furomoto, Annotated Figure 1
Morimoto teaches a similar fishing reel and further teaches wherein the geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours (7A; 7B; Figures 3-4) of respective contact surfaces of the three or more connecting members (7) are the same. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fishing reel of Furomoto to include wherein the geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours of respective contact surfaces of the three or more connecting members are the same as taught by Morimoto in order to produce repetitive product that allows for faster production and assembly, improves quality and efficiency, and reduces manufacturing costs.
Regarding claim 2, Furomoto discloses wherein to prevent exposure of a contact region between the left and right frames (1A, 2A) and the connecting members (3, 5) to outside, the connecting members (3, 5) comprise an edge portion (E; see Furomoto annotated Figure 1 above; the edge of the end surfaces of the connecting members 3,5 contact and surround the recess edge of the contacting surface of the left and right frames 1A,2A) that covers the contact surfaces (C) of the left and right frames (1A, 2a).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/03/2025 with respect to claims 1 and 3 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1 and 3, in the last four lines of pages 4-5, the applicant argued that there is no disclosure in Furomoto wherein the geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours of respective contact surfaces of the three or more connecting members are the same.
The examiner agrees that the disclosure of Furomoto fails to teach wherein the geometric configuration and dimensions of exterior contours of respective contact surfaces of the three or more connecting members are the same. However, the examiner construed the disclosure of Morimoto teaches the limitation as described above. Furthermore, it is known in the art to produce components of the same shape within an assembly for standardization purposes in order to be easily replaceable, provide faster production and assembly, improve quality and efficiency, and reduce manufacturing costs. Thus, contradicting to applicant’s assertions, such amendment/argument does not overcome the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HENRIX SOTO whose telephone number is (571)270-5394. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm ET.
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/H.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/Victoria P Augustine/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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