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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "B4" and "A4" have both been used to designate “the slidable base”. 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. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
On line 6 of paragraph 31, it is believed that “the inner tube A2” should recite “the bar A1”
On line 7 of paragraph 31, “a slidable base B4” should recite “a slidable base A4”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
The following claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 introduces “at least one constricting spring” on line 5, but then multiple times through the rest of the claim, and once in claim 3 recites “the constricting spring”. All of these instances should recite “the at least one constricting spring”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng (US 20190376339) in view of Tao (US 20210156196) and Haarer (US 9080381).
Regarding claim 1, Tao teaches:
a buffering device (fig. 2) capable of lower-limit position adjustment, mounted to a roller blind (fig. 2), the buffering device comprising:
a fixed sleeve (3) mounted around a bar (22) of the roller blind, wherein the bar extends in an axial direction, and the fixed sleeve (3) is not rotatable with respect to the bar (due to element 31 being locked into element 3 as shown in fig. 11, element 31 connected to element 2412 as described in paragraph 62);
at least one constricting spring (246) tightly wound around an outer periphery of the fixed sleeve (3) in the axial direction, wherein the constricting spring has two end portions (2461, see fig. 24), and when an external force is applied to push the two end portions toward each other, the constricting spring is elastically loosened and no longer tightly wound around the outer periphery of the fixed sleeve (paragraph 70);
an adjustment ring (247) mounted around an outer periphery of the constricting spring (fig. 21), wherein the adjustment ring is provided with an opening, the opening has two lateral edges each forming a pushing portion (shown in fig. 10), and the two end portions of the constricting spring are located between the two pushing portions such that when the adjustment ring is rotated, one of the pushing portions is subjected to the external force and transfers the external force to, and thereby pushes, a corresponding one of the end portions of the constricting spring (fig. 24, paragraph 70);
a sleeve base (245) mounted around an outer periphery of the adjustment ring (fig. 22), wherein the sleeve base is protrudingly provided with a push block (2451), and the push block extends into the opening of the adjustment ring and is located between the two end portions of the constricting spring (fig. 22) such that when any one of the end portions is pushed by the corresponding one of the pushing portions, the push block is pushed by the one of the end portions and rotates the sleeve base (functional language); and
a lower-limit position defining base (232) threadedly provided on an inner tube of the roller blind (fig. 15), wherein the lower-limit position defining base is rotatable via a transmission spring (2322) in order to move the inner tube in the axial direction with respect to the lower-limit position defining base (functional language).
Tao does not explicitly teach that the lower-limit position defining base is rotatable by the sleeve base.
Haarer teaches (figs. 50-51) a buggering device with a lower-limit position defining base (140) that is rotatable by a sleeve base (202) that is rotated by an adjustment ring (198, as is described in column 19 line 64 through column 20 line 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to modify Tao with teachings of Haarer so that the lower-limit position defining base is rotatable by the sleeve base. This alteration provides the predictable and expected results of a way of adjusting the lower-limit without requiring a tool, instead being able to simply adjust the adjustment ring.
Regarding claim 2, modified Tao teaches that the bar (22) has a non-circular cross section (fig. 10 shows that there is a non-circular portion), the fixed sleeve (3) has an end provided with a first axial hole in the axial direction (through which 2412 fits in fig. 11), the first axial hole has a same cross-sectional shape as the bar (see figure 11), and the first axial hole has a wall located around the bar in a movable manner (surrounds the bar, it is considered in a movable manner as the bar can be moved).
Regarding claim 3, modified Tao teaches that the adjustment ring is provided with a second axial hole in the axial direction (fig. 10), and the second axial hole has a wall located around the outer periphery of the constricting spring along the axial direction (fig. 21).
Regarding claims 4-5, modified Tao teaches that the adjustment ring (247) has an end provided with a turning portion (outside edge), and that wherein an elastic element (244) is provided between the sleeve base and the turning portion (when looking at fig. 21).
Regarding claims 6-7, modified Tao teaches that the sleeve base (245) is provided with a third axial hole in the axial direction (fig. 10), and the third axial hole has a wall located around the outer periphery of the adjustment ring (247) along the axial direction, and that the wall of the third axial hole is protrudingly provided with the push block in the axial direction (fig. 22).
Regarding claim 8, modified Tao teaches that a protective cover is mounted around an outer periphery of the sleeve base (element between the sleeve base and the adjustment ring in fig. 10).
Regarding claim 9, modified Tao teaches that the lower-limit position defining base is threadedly provided on a threaded section of the inner tube (fig. 8), the lower-limit position defining base comprises a first base body (2321) and a second base body (2333) coupled to the first base body, the transmission spring (2322) has a first end coupled to the sleeve base (245, indirectly) and a second end coupled to the first base body (2321), and the sleeve base rotates the first base body via the transmission spring (after the modification to claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, modified Tao teaches that the first base body (2321) is provided with a fourth axial hole in the axial direction (fig. 8), the fourth axial hole has a wall located around an outer periphery of the bar along the axial direction, the wall of the fourth axial hole is protrudingly provided at an end with a coupling portion (2323) in the axial direction, the second base body (2333) is provided with a fifth axial hole in the axial direction (fig. 8), the fifth axial hole has an end provided with a coupling groove (formed by 2332) in the axial direction, the coupling portion is engaged in the coupling groove such that the first base body is able to rotate the second base body, the fifth axial hole has an opposite end provided with an internally threaded portion in the axial direction (shown in fig. 8), and the internally threaded portion is threadedly connected to the threaded section of the inner tube such that when the second base body is rotated, the threaded section is moved in the axial direction with respect to the internally threaded portion (functional language).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW R SHEPHERD whose telephone number is (571)272-5657. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Cahn can be reached at (571) 270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.S./ Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/DANIEL P CAHN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634