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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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(s) 1-3, 6-7, 9-10, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yu (US 4794356 A).
As to claim 1, Yu discloses:
An adapter 13, 31, 50 (Fig. 1-4b) for installing at least one accessory part 31, 40 into an electrical switch 10, 11, 12, 14, the switch having a housing 11, 12 and at least one actuation element 73, and the at least one accessory part having at least one interface 49, the adapter comprising:
at least one deflection gear mechanism 50, configured to be operatively connected (see Fig. 4a-4b) between the at least one interface 49 of the at least one accessory part and the at least one actuation element 73 of the electrical switch when the adapter is installed in the housing of the electrical switch.
As to claim 2, Yu discloses:
further comprising an adapter housing 13 (Fig. 1) configured for installation into the housing of the electrical switch.
As to claim 3, Yu discloses:
wherein said adapter housing 13 has a one-part design.
As to claim 6, Yu discloses:
wherein said adapter housing 13 is formed with pockets (beneath 24, 25; Fig. 1) and said at least one accessory part 31 is configured for installation in at least one of said pockets of said adapter housing.
As to claim 7, Yu discloses:
wherein said at least one deflection gear mechanism is configured to transmit forces or travels in a ratio of 1:1, with a boosting effect, or with a reducing effect. The force transmission must inherently be one of the above options: equal force, increased force, reduced force.
As to claim 9, Yu discloses:
wherein said at least one actuation element 73 is at least one element selected from the group consisting of a tripping shaft, a breaker shaft, and a lever (see Fig. 3-4b).
As to claim 10, Yu discloses:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, at least one switch selected from the group consisting of an ON/OFF auxiliary switch 31 (col. 4, lines 42-53), a trip alarm switch, a leading changeover switch, an electrical alarm switch, and a short-circuit alarm switch.
As to claim 13, Yu discloses:
An electrical switch 10, comprising: a housing 11, 12 formed with a recess (at least 32; and an adapter according to claim 1 installed in said recess of said housing (see Fig. 3-4b).
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.
Claim(s) 4-5 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (US 4794356 A) as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Blessitt (US 6166343 A).
As to claim 4, Yu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein said adapter housing has a two-part design, with a lower part to be releasably installed into the housing of the electrical switch, and an upper part to be installed on said lower part.
However, Blessitt discloses:
wherein said adapter housing has a two-part design 543, 511 (Fig. 1-13), with a lower part 511 to be releasably installed (attached by screw 540; Fig. 9A-9B; and by screws 591 via upper housing 543; see Fig. 1-3) into the housing 100 (within the perimeter of the housing 100) of the electrical switch, and an upper part 543 to be installed on said lower part;
in order to provide a cylinder lock accessory 618 for mechanically locking the circuit breaker assembly 100 (col. 16, lines 54-67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Yu as suggested by Blessitt, e.g., providing:
wherein said adapter housing has a two-part design, with a lower part to be releasably installed into the housing of the electrical switch, and an upper part to be installed on said lower part;
in order to provide a cylinder lock accessory for mechanically locking the circuit breaker assembly.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
As to claim 5, Yu view of Blessitt discloses:
wherein, when said upper part is installed, said upper part blocks said lower part from being released from the electrical switch (see Fig. 1-9B; Blessitt).
As to claim 12, Yu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, a cylinder locking mechanism that is used to lock an actuator in an ON position or an OFF position of the electrical switch.
However, Blessitt discloses:
wherein said adapter 543, 511 (Fig. 1-13) is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, a cylinder locking mechanism 618 that is used to lock an actuator 103 (toggle handle; Fig. 3) in an ON position or an OFF position of the electrical switch;
in order to mechanically lock the circuit breaker assembly 100 (col. 16, lines 54-67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Yu as suggested by Blessitt, e.g., providing:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, a cylinder locking mechanism that is used to lock an actuator in an ON position or an OFF position of the electrical switch;
in order to mechanically lock the circuit breaker assembly.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (US 4794356 A) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Titus (US 7843291 B2).
As to claim 8, Yu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein said at least one deflection gear mechanism is configured to simultaneously actuate at least two interfaces of the accessory part.
However, Titus discloses:
wherein said at least one deflection gear mechanism 220 (Fig. 3) is configured to (has two switching pads 228 and two levers 226) simultaneously actuate at least two interfaces of the accessory part (“The switch pad 228 is configured to operate one or more of the switches 250, 252” of the accessory part 200; col. 6, lines 43-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Yu as suggested by Titus, e.g., providing:
wherein said at least one deflection gear mechanism is configured to simultaneously actuate at least two interfaces of the accessory part;
in order to operate at least two switches of the accessory part.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (US 4794356 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Russell (US 4890184 A).
As to claim 11, Yu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, at least one element selected from the group consisting of an undervoltage release, a shunt release, a communication module, and a power supply module.
However, Russell discloses:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part 39 (Fig. 3), at least one element selected from the group consisting of an undervoltage release (Fig. 3), a shunt release, a communication module, and a power supply module;
in order to provide overcurrent along with undervoltage release functions (col. 2, lines 14-30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Yu as suggested by Russell, e.g., providing:
wherein the adapter is configured to accommodate, as an accessory part, at least one element selected from the group consisting of an undervoltage release;
in order to provide overcurrent along with undervoltage release functions.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/02/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has suggested that Yu does not disclose “An adapter for installing at least one accessory part into an electrical switch” because it “requires a device that installs separate accessory components” (Remarks, p. 6, 8).
In response, Examiner notes that this language is missing from the claims and is therefore not a limitation.
Applicant has suggested that Yu does not disclose “at least one deflection gear mechanism configured to be operatively connected between the at least one interface of the at least one accessory part and the at least one actuation element of the electrical switch when the adapter is installed in the housing of the electrical switch” because the simple lever 50 of Yang does not provide “force modification, spatial adaptation, or complex transmission capabilities” (Remarks, p. 8).
In response, Examiner notes that these limitations are again missing from the claim language. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “gear” as:
Gear - a mechanism that performs a specific function in a complete machine.
Thus, the term “deflection gear mechanism” can be broadly interpreted as an element/mechanism of the device that moves and performs a function, which is met by the rotating lever 50 of Yang.
Applicant has also suggested that “the deflection gear mechanism is an intermediary mechanical element that adapts between different components” and that the lever of Yang is not (Remarks, p. 9).
In response, Examiner notes that Fig. 4A-4B of Yang clearly depict lever 50 as an intermediary mechanical element that adapts (alters/transmits motion/action) between different components 73 and 40, e.g., engaging/disengaging plunger 49 of 40 based on toggling switch 14 and crossbar 73.
Accordingly, the rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JACOB R CRUM whose telephone number is (571)270-7665. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JACOB R CRUM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835