DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 5, line 2 – page 6, line 9, filed 8/20/2026, with respect to claims 3-4 and 12, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claims 3-4 and objection to claim 12 have been withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments.
Applicant's arguments, see page 6, line 10 – page 9, line 18, filed 8/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has canceled dependent claims 5, 6, and 9, and has amended the canceled limitations into claim 1. Applicant then argues against applying the references that were applied in the non-final rejection of record, to newly amended claim 1. The substantive crux of Applicant’s argument against applying the references of record can be found on page 8, lines 28-30: “Ishizaki does not teach a setting member comprising a screw adjustment member that also satisfies the axis center distances as recited in proposed claim 1.”
Here, Applicant’s argument is incommensurate with the scope of amended claim 1. Amended claim 1 recites only that “the setting member comprises an adjustment member.” Claim 1 recites no spatial relationship between the adjustment member and the afore-recited axes center. For this reason, amended claim 1 reads on the references of record as described in the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 1 below.
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.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7, and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Niitsuma (JP 2008090170 A, April 17, 2008), in view of Yamamoto et al. (US 20230419924 A1, EFD March 24, 2021), hereinafter Yamamoto, and further in view of Ishizaki (JP 2014224854 A, December 4, 2014) and Iwamoto et al. (JP 2015064599 A, April 9, 2015), hereinafter Iwamoto.
Regarding claim 1, Niitsuma teaches a pedal device comprising: a pedal case comprising an opening portion (Niitsuma ¶0028: "the front wall 4b [of cover 4] has a rectangular window 36 that opens downwards at a position corresponding to the window 32 of the chassis 3."); a base member on which the pedal case is provided (Niitsuma ¶0017: "a base plate 8 attached to the lower end of the chassis 3." Niitsuma's base member comprises an upper base member 3 and a lower base member 8.); a pedal projecting outwards of the pedal case via the opening portion (Niitsuma ¶0002: "The pedal extends in the front-to-back direction through the window in the cover, with its rear half housed within the cover and rotatably supported at its rear end." See Niitsuma fig. 3 for pedal 14 projecting through opening 36.) and provided rotatably (Niitsuma ¶0017: "a chassis 3 that rotatably supports the pedal 2") supported by a bearing portion on the base member (Niitsuma ¶0036: "pivot point portion 33"); a pedal leg portion provided on the base member (See portion of chassis 3 and base plate 8 extending under projecting portion of pedal 14 in Niitsuma fig. 3.), comprising a setting member provided in such a manner as to be brought into abutment with a setting surface (Niitsuma ¶0034: "Two cushions 48, made of felt or hard rubber, are attached to the back surface of the base plate 8, and the pedal device 1 is in contact with the floor F via these cushions 48 (see Figure 3)."), and projecting outwards of the pedal case on a side where the pedal projects (See portion of chassis 3 and base plate 8 extending under projecting portion of pedal 14 in Niitsuma fig. 3.).
Niitsuma does not explicitly disclose a rotational shaft supported by a bearing portion; and a connecting member fixed to the base member, the connecting member being configured to connect with a leg portion configured to support an attachment target, wherein a distance from an axis center of the setting member to a distal end of the pedal is smaller than a distance from the axis center of the setting member to an axis center of the connecting member, and wherein the setting member comprises an adjustment member configured to move in a vertical direction through an operation of a screw construction.
However, Yamamoto teaches a rotational shaft supported by a bearing portion (Yamamoto abstract: "A pedal unit according to an embodiment includes a first foot lever, a shaft serving as a center of rotation of the first foot lever, and a bearing paired with the shaft.").
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma by adding the rotational shaft supported by a bearing portion of Yamamoto to reduce wear (Yamamoto ¶0120).
Furthermore, Ishizaki teaches that a connecting member is fixed to the base member, the connecting member being configured to connect with a leg portion configured to support an attachment target (Ishizaki ¶0013: "As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the base member 4 comprises a base body 6 that spans between a pair of legs 2b of the keyboard instrument 1"), wherein a distance from an axis center of the setting member to a distal end of the pedal is smaller than a distance from the axis center of the setting member to an axis center of the connecting member (See pedal, setting member, and connecting member labeled in annotated Ishizaki fig. 3.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma by adding the connecting member of Ishizaki to connect the pedal device to a keyboard instrument (Ishizaki ¶0013 and the axis center distances of Ishizaki to make the operation of the pedal unit feel closer to that of an acoustic piano (Yamamoto ¶0061).
Furthermore, Iwamoto teaches that the setting member comprises an adjustment member configured to move in a vertical direction through an operation of a screw construction (Iwamoto ¶0019: "The adjuster 34 comprises a shaft portion 34a and a base portion 34b fixed to the lower end of the shaft portion 34a. Although detailed illustrations are omitted, the upper end of the shaft portion 34a is attached to a screw hole (not shown) provided in the bottom wall 25 by screw engagement. The shaft portion 34a is attached near the center in the width direction of the bottom wall 25, and the lower end of the base portion 34b is in contact with the floor surface (not shown). This adjuster 34 allows for adjustment of the height position of the base portion 34b relative to the bottom wall 25 of the frame 20 by rotating the shaft portion 34a and the base portion 34b.").
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma by adding the adjustment member of Iwamoto to adjust the height of the pedal device relative to the floor surface (Iwamoto ¶0019).
Regarding claim 2, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Niitsuma further teaches that the base member comprises a lower base member and an upper base member provided above the lower base member (Niitsuma ¶0017: "a base plate 8 attached to the lower end of the chassis 3." Niitsuma's base member comprises an upper base member 3 and a lower base member 8.), wherein the bearing portion (Niitsuma ¶0036: "pivot point portion 33") is provided on the upper base member (Niitsuma ¶0036: "The chassis 3 is turned upside down, the pedal 2 is inserted into the pedal mounting portion 26 [of chassis 3]."), and wherein the setting member is provided on the lower base member (Niitsuma ¶0034: "Two cushions 48, made of felt or hard rubber, are attached to the back surface of the base plate 8).
Regarding claim 3, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Niitsuma further teaches that the setting member is disposed within an area defined by projecting the pedal in a direction perpendicular to the setting surface (See setting member 48 underneath pedal 14 outside opening 36 in Niitsuma fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Niitsuma further teaches that the setting member is disposed within a projected area of a part of the pedal; and the projected area being defined by projecting the pedal in a direction perpendicular to the setting surface (See setting member 48 underneath pedal 14 outside opening 36 in Niitsuma fig. 3).
Regarding claim 7, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Ishizaki further teaches a biasing member configured to bias the pedal upwards (Ishizaki ¶0020: "This spring member 13 is a coil spring, with one end, the upper end, attached to the lower surface of the upper plate portion 11a of the movable cover portion 11, and the other end, the lower end, attached to the upper surface of the pedal 5. In this state, the pedal 5 and the movable cover portion 11 are pulled towards each other, thereby biasing the tip portion 5a of the pedal 5 in an upward direction."), wherein an axis center of the connecting member is disposed between an axis center of the biasing member and an axis center of the rotational shaft (Ishizaki annotated fig. 3 teaches that an axis center of the connecting member is disposed between an axis center of the biasing member and an axis center of the rotational shaft.).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma (as modified by Yamamoto, Ishizaki, and Iwamoto) by adding the axis center distances of Ishizaki to make the operation of the pedal unit feel closer to that of an acoustic piano (Yamamoto ¶0061).
Regarding claim 10, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Yamamoto further teaches that the pedal is provided three in a row, including two outer pedals and a center pedal in-between (Yamamoto ¶0064: "FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external view of an electronic keyboard apparatus according to an embodiment." ¶0065: "In this example, the pedal unit 10 includes three foot levers 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 (first, second, and third foot levers).").
Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) does not explicitly disclose that Iwamoto's adjustment member, as discussed in claim 1 above, is provided for each of the two outer pedals.
However, providing an adjustment member for each of the two outer pedals constitutes an unpatentable duplication of parts since no new or unexpected result is produced; the end result remains to adjust the height of the pedal device relative to the floor. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma (as modified by Yamamoto, Ishizaki, and Iwamoto) by adding additional adjustment members of Iwamoto to adjust the height of the pedal device relative to the floor surface (Iwamoto ¶0019).
Regarding claim 11, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 2 as discussed above.
Iwamoto further teaches that a lower sheet metal (Iwamoto ¶0015: "The frame 20 is formed into a roughly rectangular box shape by appropriately bending a plate-like member made of metal or the like.") member (Iwamoto ¶0019: "bottom wall 25 of the frame 20") of a substantially L-shaped cross section (Iwamoto fig. 2 teaches that bottom wall 25 is of a substantially L-shaped cross section.) is provided on a lower surface of a lower base member main body portion of the lower base member (Iwamoto ¶0019: "bottom wall 25 of the frame 20").
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma (as modified by Yamamoto, Ishizaki, and Iwamoto) by adding the L-shaped lower metal member of Iwamoto to increase the strength and rigidity of the frame.
Regarding claim 12, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 11 as discussed above.
Iwamoto further teaches that a pad configured to be brought into abutment with a setting surface is provided on a lower surface of the lower sheet metal member (Iwamoto ¶0019: "The adjuster 34 comprises a shaft portion 34a and a base portion 34b fixed to the lower end of the shaft portion 34a. Although detailed illustrations are omitted, the upper end of the shaft portion 34a is attached to a screw hole (not shown) provided in the bottom wall 25 by screw engagement. The shaft portion 34a is attached near the center in the width direction of the bottom wall 25, and the lower end of the base portion 34b is in contact with the floor surface (not shown). This adjuster 34 allows for adjustment of the height position of the base portion 34b relative to the bottom wall 25 of the frame 20 by rotating the shaft portion 34a and the base portion 34b.").
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma (as modified by Yamamoto, Ishizaki, and Iwamoto) by adding the pad of Iwamoto to adjust the height of the pedal device relative to the floor surface (Iwamoto ¶0019).
Regarding claim 13, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Niitsuma further teaches an electronic keyboard instrument comprising the pedal device (Niitsuma abstract: "The present invention relates to a pedal device for a keyboard instrument, such as an electronic piano, used to impart pedal effects.").
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Niitsuma in view of Yamamoto, and further in view of Ishizaki, Iwamoto, and Watanabe (JP H06289852 A, October 18, 1994).
Regarding claim 8, Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) teaches a pedal device comprising the features of claim 1 as discussed above.
Niitsuma (in view of Yamamoto and further in view of Ishizaki and Iwamoto) does not explicitly disclose that the pedal leg portion includes a lower limit restricting member provided on an axis center of the setting member which faces a lower surface of the pedal, the lower limit restricting member being configured to restrict a lower limit of the pedal.
However, Watanabe teaches that the pedal leg portion includes a lower limit restricting member (Watanabe ¶0010: "a lower limit stopper 11") provided on an axis center (See alignment of stopper 11 over axis center of setting member 2 in Watanabe fig. 3) of the setting member (Watanabe ¶0002: "A frame 30 is installed on the floor 1 via leg members 2") which faces a lower surface of the pedal (Watanabe fig. 3 teaches lower limit stopper 11 facing a lower surface of pedal 4.), the lower limit restricting member being configured to restrict a lower limit of the pedal (Watanabe ¶0010: "a lower limit stopper 11 made of felt material is provided on the frame 3. The lower limit stopper 11 determines the lower limit position.").
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedal device of Niitsuma (as modified by Yamamoto, Ishizaki, and Iwamoto) by adding the restricting member and setting member alignment of Watanabe to make the operation of the pedal unit feel closer to that of an acoustic piano (Yamamoto ¶0061).
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 PHILIP SCOLES whose telephone number is (703)756-1831. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached on 571-270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHILIP G SCOLES/
Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/DEDEI K HAMMOND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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