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 .
Detailed Action
Drawings Objection
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a center and a member (both cited in claim 8); a projection and a hole (both cited in claims 9 and 12); a pair of notches (cited in claim 10); a protrusion portion (cited in claim 11); a projection (cited in claim 12) must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejection - 35 U.S.C. 112(b)
1. 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.
2. Claims 6 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
(1) In claim 6, line 2, “a bottom of the recess is a part of the first member” does not agree with line 5 of claim 1 which requires “a recess configured to house the object in advance when the object is cut by the pair of cutting blades. Specifically, a recess to house the object in advance of cutting is the recess 722 shown in Fig.2 and paragraph [0019], lines 8-9 of the specification). However, the recess cited in claim 6 is not the recess 722 of claim 1 but is the recess 712 shown in Fig.5 and described in paragraph [0043], lines 4-5 of the specification). In other words, these two recesses (722,712) are different recesses. Thereof, claim 6 should not refer “the recess” back to the one cited in claim 1.
(2) In claim 7, the limitation “the first member is thicker than the second member” does not agree with Fig.4. As shown in the figure, the first member (710) is not thicker than the second member (720). It is the two parallel plate-shaped portions (711) of the first member (710) that are thicker than the two parallel plate-shaped portions (721) of the second member (720).
(3) In claim 8, lines 2-3, it is not understood what it is meant by “a center in a thickness direction of a member including the cutting blade”. A center of what? What member including the cutting blade?
(4) In claim 9, “the first member” and “the second member” have no antecedent basis. It appears claim 9 should depend from claim 2.
(5) In claims 10-12, “the pair of shafts” lacks antecedent basis.
Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
1. Claims 1-5, 7 and 13 are allowed.
2. Claims 6 and 8-12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
3. Independent claims 1 and 13 contain allowable subject matter. The most relevant prior art of record is U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0339410 to Hayashi et al. (hereinafter “Hayashi”) which shows an electric cutting device (1A, see Fig.3) comprising:
a pair of cutting blades (2A,2B) configured to clamp and cut an object (S, Fig.8A);
an electric motor (50, see Fig.3) configured to generate a driving force necessary for operating the cutting blades (2A,2B); and
a guide plate (4A,4B, see Fig.2) formed with a recess (40A,40B) configured to house the object (S, see Fig.8A) in advance when the object (S) is cut by the pair of cutting blades (2A,2B),
wherein the guide plate (4A,4B) includes a pair of plate-shaped portions (4A,4B) sandwiching the cutting blades (2A,2B, see Fig.8) substantially as claimed except Hayashi does not meet the claimed limitation of wherein the guide plate (700, see Figs.13A and 13C of this instant application) is configured to be switched between:
a first state (see Fig13A) where a front end of the guide plate (700) protrudes further than a front end of each cutting blades (110,111); and
a second state (see Fig.13C) where the front end of the cutting blades (110,111) protrudes further than the front end of the guide plate (700).
Having the guide plate (700) to be switchable between these two states allows a user to set a positional relationship between an object to be cut and the cutting blades (110,111) appropriately before cutting.
Prior Art Citations
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 2,836,888 is cited to show a cutting device comprising a fixed housing (10) and a pair of cutting blades (12) housed in the fixed housing (10) and switchable between a first state where a front end of the fixed housing (10) protrudes further than a front end of each cutting blade (12, see Fig.4), and a second state where the front end of the cutting blade (12) protrudes further than the front end of the fixed housing (10, see Fig.2).
U.S. Patent No. 4,393,587 shows a cutting device having a blade (12) and a guard (24) that is switchable between a first state for shielding the blade (12) and a second state for exposing the blade (12).
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0308337 is cited to show a pair of shears comprising a pair of cutting blades (48,52) and a guide (160) slidably adjustable relative to the cutting blades (48,52).
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0207953 shows a cutting device (see Fig.5) comprising a pair of cutting blades (111) and a guide plate (700) having a flat surface (702), wherein the position of the flat surface (702) is adjustable (see paragraph [0064], lines 5-6).
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0073792 shows a cutting device comprising a pair of plate-shaped guide members (700) with recesses (710) having the functions of guiding a workpiece to be cut by a pair of cutting blades (111,112) of the cutting device.
DE 29 10 544 shows a pair of cable shears comprising a pair of cutting blades (13) and a guide (24) pushing over a cable to position the cutting blade (13) correctly for a clean cut.
Point of Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HWEI-SIU PAYER whose telephone number is (571)272-4511. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Boyer Ashley, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-4502. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/InterviewPractice.
/HWEI-SIU C PAYER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724