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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The use of the terms “Bluetooth”, “WIFI”, and “Lightning”, which are trade names or marks used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
Paragraph 0016, “emits ad receives” should be “emits and receives”.
Paragraph 0022, “121: second housing” should be “112: second housing”.
Paragraph 0030, “users interacting one” should be “users interacting with one”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 14 objected to because of the following informalities:
In the preamble of claim 10, “The smart pet feeder” should be “The interactive gaming device”.
In claim 10, “Bluetooth” and “WIFI” should have trademarks.
In claim 14, “Lightning” should have a trademark.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7 and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the through hole" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. A through hole is only mentioned in claim 5, which claim 7 is not a dependent of.
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 1-5, 9-12, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220100280 A1 (hereinafter known as “Nocon”) in view of US 20180085677 A1 (hereinafter known as “Atsuzawa”) and US 8313379 B2 (hereinafter known as “Ikeda”).
Regarding claim 1, Nocon discloses an embodiment for a gaming device that has a housing assembly (Fig. 1, 102);
a circuit board (Fig. 1, 107), fixedly arranged in the housing assembly;
a gyroscope (Fig. 1, 174), fixedly arranged on the circuit board and configured to detect a movement trajectory of the housing assembly in real time;
and a battery (Fig. 1, 110) fixedly arranged in the housing assembly, electrically connected to the circuit board, and configured to supply electric energy. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, Nocon discloses an infrared assembly (Para. 0126), arranged at a front end of the housing assembly and electrically connected to the circuit board, wherein the infrared assembly emits and receives infrared rays;
a light-emitting diode (LED) assembly (Fig. 13B, 1324, 1332), fixedly arranged in the housing assembly and electrically connected to the circuit board, wherein the LED assembly varies in different colors (Para. 0134), and light emitted by the LED assembly is transmitted through the housing assembly (Para. 0148);
Nocon does not disclose an atomization assembly, arranged at the front end of the housing assembly and electrically connected to the circuit board, wherein water mist produced by the atomization assembly is sprayed out of the housing assembly;
Atsuzawa discloses an assembly that atomizes water into mist (Abstract) in the analogous art of entertainment toys. It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include the feature into Nocon’s invention for the purpose of increased amusement when using the device.
Nocon also does not disclose a button assembly, arranged on the circuit board, penetrating through the housing assembly, and configured to control on and off as well as function setting of the device; Ikeda discloses a controller in the analogous art of interactive gaming that has a button assembly arranged on a circuit board (Fig. 3, Col. 12, lines 34-45). It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the control buttons of Ikeda within an electronic device such as Nocon’s for increased interactivity and power control to conserve energy.
Regarding claim 2, modified Nocon further discloses a horn (Nocon, Fig. 1, 138, 166), wherein the horn is arranged in the housing assembly and electrically connected to the circuit board; and the horn sends corresponding audios according to different usage scenarios (Para. 0015).
Regarding claim 3, modified Nocon further discloses a housing assembly is in a streamline rod shape (Fig. 1, 102).
Regarding claim 4, modified Nocon further discloses a housing assembly with a first housing (Ikeda, Fig. 3, 28) and a second housing (Ikeda, Fig. 3, 68); the first housing and the second housing are connected through a fastener structure or a screw structure (Fig. 3, 42); and the two housings respectively wrap the circuit, the battery, and the LED assembly. It would be obvious to incorporate a multi-piece housing element from Ikeda into Nocon’s design to allow the user access to internal components for potential troubleshooting or battery replacement.
Regarding claim 5, modified Nocon further discloses a through hole (Atsuzawa, Fig. 4, 103) and a plurality of horn holes (Atsuzawa, Fig. 2, 105) in a penetrating manner; the position of the through hole corresponds to the position of the atomization assembly; the plurality of horn holes are uniformly arranged, and the positions of the horn holes correspond to the position of the horn; and sound produced by the horn is diffused through the plurality of horn holes. By the addition of Atsuzawa’s atomization assembly, it would be obvious to also include the disclosed corresponding through hole to Nocon’s design in order to be able to fill the assembly with water to be atomized. Though Nocon did not specifically disclose horn holes, it would be obvious in view of Atsuzawa to incorporate the holes to better hear emitted noises.
Regarding claim 9, modified Nocon further discloses a wireless communication module (Nocon, Fig. 1, 146 and 150) is further arranged on the circuit board; and the interactive gaming device is wirelessly connected to an electronic terminal through the wireless communication module, so that the device is wirelessly controlled through an application program or a mini program on the electronic terminal (Nocon, Para. 0071).
Regarding claim 10, modified Nocon further discloses a wireless connection module (Nocon, Fig. 1, 146 and 150) uses one or more of a Bluetooth wireless communication module, a WIFI wireless communication module, a 4G wireless communication module and a 5G wireless communication module (Nocon, Para. 0071).
Regarding claim 11, modified Nocon further discloses that the battery is a dry battery or a rechargeable battery (Nocon, Para. 0068).
Regarding claim 12, modified Nocon further discloses that a battery that is a rechargeable battery (Nocon, Fig. 1, 110, para. 0155), the circuit board is further provided with a charging interface (Nocon, para. 0068); and the charging interface penetrates through the housing assembly to charge the battery (Nocon, Fig. 1, 112).
Regarding claim 15, modified Nocon further discloses in an alternate embodiment of Nocon (referenced supra regarding claim 1) that the LED assembly comprises a lamp panel (Fig. 13D, 1342 – “structures”, intermediate layer can be considered a panel) and a plurality of LEDs (Fig. 13B, 1324, 1332); the lamp panel is electrically connected to the circuit board (Para. 0138); the plurality of LEDs are arranged on the lamp panel (Fig.13 D, 1326A and 1326B); and the corresponding LEDs are controlled to be lightened in different colors through the circuit board (Para. 0134). While Nocon does not specifically state that the LEDs are lightened at different twinkling durations, the disclosed LEDs are controlled to turn off and on at specific times by a controller, and therefore would be capable of “twinkling” at different durations. If a prior art structure is inherently capable of performing the intended use as recited, then it shifts the burden to applicant to establish that the prior art does not possess the characteristic relied on. See MPEP 2114 - In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477-78, 44 USPQ2d 1429, 1431-32 (Fed. Cir. 1997)
Regarding claim 16, modified Nocon further discloses that the housing assembly is detachably connected with a decorating part (Nocon, Fig. 1, 104 – “elongate unit”, para. 0064). It is noted that alternative embodiment referenced supra shows LEDs running the length of the housing unit, which would make it not detachable. However, Nocon states that “all the electronics may be placed in the base unit 102 while the elongate unit 104 can be devoid of any electronics” (para. 0064). Therefore, it would be reasonable to include the LED lamp panel in the base unit to allow for detachability in the elongate unit.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nocon in view of Atsuzawa and Ikeda, and in further view of US 20210370164 A1 (hereinafter “Lu”).
Regarding claim 13, while modified Nocon does disclose a rechargeable battery (Nocon, Fig. 1, 110, para. 0155), Nocon does not specifically state that it is a polymer lithium-ion battery. Lu discloses a game controller, in the analogous art of interactive entertainment devices, with a lithium polymer battery element (Para. 0042). Thus, it would be obvious for to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to implement specifically a lithium polymer battery, as it is well-known across electronic game devices and is lightweight.
Regarding claim 14, while modified Nocon does disclose a charging interface (Nocon, Fig. 1, 112) that can be USB, it does not specify micro USB, Type-C, or Lightning interfaces. Lu discloses a controller that could be from all three of these options (Para. 0027). Thus, it would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use a micro USB, Type-C, or lighting port to the interface, as these chargers are smaller and would take up less space on the device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 7-8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 6 would be allowable for disclosing an interactive gaming device with an atomization assembly that has a liquid storage tank and an atomization plate; the liquid storage tank is fixedly arranged in the housing assembly, and accommodates liquid; and the atomization plate is arranged at a bottom of the liquid storage tank and atomizes the liquid flowing out of the bottom of the liquid storage tank.
Nocon teaches an interactive gaming device (Fig. 1, 100). However, as noted with respect to claim 1, Nocon does not teach an atomization assembly and therefore does not teach a liquid storage tank or atomization plate.
Atsuzawa teaches an atomization assembly (Abstract) capable of producing mist includes an atomization plate (Fig. 4, 114) and a liquid storage tank (Para. 0146). However, the atomization plate is not arranged at the bottom of the liquid storage tank and therefore fails to teach atomization of liquid flowing out of the bottom of the tank. Instead, the bottom of the tank has a tube that drips water onto the plate, or in another version, a gutter that drips onto the plate (Fig. 4, 113).
Based on the stated perceived benefits of Atsuzawa’s method of dripping water onto the plate, such as preventing “fungi growth, generation of odor, deposition of calcium carbonate or the like due to leaving of the used liquid for a long time in the liquid storage tank” (para. 0011), it would be improper hindsight to modify Atsuzawa, and therefore Nocon, by introducing an atomization plate arranged permanently at the bottom of a liquid storage tank. Therefore, the combination of features is considered to be allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20230135754 discloses an apparatus with a liquid storage tank and an atomizer for converting water into mist.
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/S.M.B./Examiner, Art Unit 3711
/MICHAEL D DENNIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711