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 under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “beveled target paper support frame” of claim 6; “vertical strong spring”, “horizontal strong spring”, and “force steering assembly” of claim 7; “first movable block”, “first horizontal adjusting rod”, “first positioning rod”, “positioning holes”, “through holes”, “first adjusting rod supporting block”, “second adjusting rod supporting block” of claim 8; and “second movable block” of claim 9 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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 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.
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 1,2,5, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 114562911 A) in view of Feng (CN 203928896 U).
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches a target paper changing machine (Abstract, Fig. 1) capable of collecting and releasing paper rolls (11) and accurately feeding paper, wherein including, paper releasing equipment (elements 4 and 5 in Fig. 1; page 7, paragraph 2), paper collecting equipment (elements 6 and 7 in Fig. 1; page 7, paragraph 2), a backing plate assembly (12), target paper (11), an accurate paper feeding mechanism (Abstract) and a system control unit (1); one end of the target paper is connected with the paper releasing equipment (elements 4 and 5 in Fig. 1; page 7, paragraph 2), and the other end of the target paper is connected with the paper collecting equipment (elements 6 and 7 in Fig. 1; page 7, paragraph 2); the accurate paper feeding mechanism is arranged on the paper releasing equipment and/or the paper collecting equipment (Abstract, page 7, paragraph 2), and is configured to limit the feeding process of the target paper in collecting and releasing processes, and collect feeding data (page 7, last paragraph); the system control unit (1) is connected to the paper releasing equipment, the paper collecting equipment and the accurate paper feeding mechanism (page 7, last paragraph).
Li does not teach a front and back assembly (with respect to the target) of the releasing and collecting equipment, a paper releasing box and a paper collecting box, wherein the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box are arranged in parallel front and back; the backing plate assembly is arranged between the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box and arranged above the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box; the paper releasing equipment is arranged in the paper releasing box, and the paper collecting equipment is arranged in the paper collecting box, and the other end of the target paper bypasses a front side and a rear side of the backing plate assembly and is connected with the paper collecting equipment.
However, Feng teaches a front and back assembly (with respect to the target) of the releasing and collecting equipment (elements 3 and 7 on both front and back sides, Fig.1; paragraph 43), a paper releasing box and a paper collecting box (Fig. 1), wherein the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box are arranged in parallel front and back (Fig. 1), the paper releasing equipment is arranged in the paper releasing box and the paper collecting equipment is arranged in the paper collecting box (paragraph 43, Fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide the backing plate assembly of Li with the front-and-back arrangement of the releasing and collecting target-paper equipment as taught by Feng, to arrange the backing plate assembly between and above the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box, enabling the target paper to bypass a front side and a rear side of the backing plate assembly, to ultimately allow a smooth target-paper feeding mechanism and prevent jamming. The examiner takes the position that it would have been obvious to place the backing plate of Li in between the paper releasing and collecting box means of Feng as a matter of rearrangement of parts as there is no criticality where the backing plate is positioned. See In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950), where the court held that merely changing the position of an element found in the prior art was unpatentable as it would not have modified the operation of the device.
Regarding claim 2, Li teaches wherein the paper releasing equipment and the paper collecting equipment each include a reel (elements 5 and 6), an adjustable speed motor (elements 4 and 7) and a steering drum (elements 14 and 17) (page 7, first two paragraphs); wherein the reel is in linkage connection with the adjustable speed motor, and the adjustable speed motor drives the reel to rotate; the target paper to be released or collected is wound around the reel and is released or collected along with the rotation of the reel (Figs. 1 and 2; page 7, first two paragraphs).
Regarding claim 5, Li teaches wherein the backing plate assembly includes a backing plate support frame (Fig. 2; page 4, “According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the disclosure, the rack comprises a cavity at the bottom and a
support frame vertically arranged on the cavity, the target paper control mechanism, the covering layer control mechanism and the electric control device are all arranged in the cavity, and the target paper back plate is fixedly arranged on the support frame”), two quick-detachable support rods, a backing plate (12) and a guide shaft (13,14); wherein the two quick-detachable support rods (see labeled drawing below) are arranged at two sides of the backing plate respectively and are fixedly connected with the backing plate; the guide shaft is arranged at a top of the backing plate, and two ends of the guide shaft are rotatably connected with the quick- detachable support rods at the corresponding ends respectively; the backing plate support frame includes two vertical support rods (see labeled drawing below) and one horizontal support rod (see labeled drawing below); the two vertical support rods are arranged at and fixedly connected with two ends of the horizontal support rod respectively; bottom ends of the two vertical support rods are fixedly connected with upper surfaces of the paper releasing box and the paper collecting box, and top ends of the two vertical support rods are provided with longitudinal insertion holes (see labeled drawing below); the two quick-detachable support rods are respectively inserted into the longitudinal insertion holes (page 4, “height adjusting mechanism”). See Figure 2 below and page 4 of Li for a better understanding of the detachable horizontal and vertical support rods since Li does not assign a numeral to those elements. Page 4 states the following: “According to a specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the disclosure, the rack comprises a cavity at the bottom and a support frame vertically arranged on the cavity, the target paper control mechanism, the covering layer control mechanism and the electric control device are all arranged in the cavity, and the target paper back plate is fixedly arranged on the support frame; and a height adjusting mechanism for adjusting the height of the supporting frame is arranged between the supporting frame and the cavity”. The “height adjusting” mechanism of Li implies detachability.
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Regarding claim 14, Li teaches an image acquisition device arranged in front of the target paper changing machine (page 9, paragraph 6), and a sound generating device arranged on the target paper changing machine (page 9, second paragraph); the image acquisition device acquires a real-time shooting image and transmits the real-time shooting image to the system control unit of the target paper changing machine for processing to obtain a real-time shooting score (page 9, first paragraph), and the score is reported by the sound generating device (page 9, second paragraph).
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Feng, further in view of Kamikura (CA 1069325 A), and further in view of Mo (JP 2015214090 A).
Regarding claim 3, The modified Li does not teach wherein the accurate paper feeding mechanism includes a plurality of rivets, a counting disk and a through-beam laser sensor; the rivets are uniformly and fixedly arranged at a periphery of an end portion of the steering drum of the paper releasing equipment and/or the paper collecting equipment, and the rivets are matched with rivet holes formed in an edge of the target paper in diameter and spacing; the counting disk is arranged outside the steering drum, is arranged in parallel to an end surface of the steering drum, and is fixedly connected with the steering drum; a plurality of counting slits are uniformly formed in an outer edge of the counting disk, and the counting slits are in one-to-one correspondence to the rivets; the through-beam laser sensor is arranged at the outer edge of the counting disk and is configured to count the counting slits; the through-beam laser sensor is connected to the system control unit and is configured to transmit counting data to the system control unit.
However, Kamikura teaches a paper (1-card) feeding mechanism (Figs. 2-4; page 7, last paragraph, through page 8) that includes a plurality of rivets (6a-sprocket wheel, Fig. 3; page 7, second paragraph); the rivets are uniformly and fixedly arranged at a periphery of an end portion of the steering drum of the paper releasing equipment and/or the paper collecting equipment (Fig. 3; page 7, second paragraph), and the rivets are matched with rivet holes formed in an edge of the target paper in diameter and spacing (Fig. 3; page 7, second paragraph). Furthermore, Mo teaches a counting disk (39) (Fig. 4; Section: Description of Embodiments, paragraph 17) and a through-beam laser sensor (40), the counting disk (39) is arranged outside the steering drum (35) (Fig. 4), is arranged in parallel to an end surface of the steering drum (Fig. 4), and is fixedly connected with the steering drum (Fig. 4, claim 6); a plurality of counting slits (39a) are uniformly formed in an outer edge of the counting disk (39) (Fig. 4, claim 6), the through-beam laser sensor is arranged at the outer edge of the counting disk and is configured to count the counting slits (Fig. 4, claim 6); the through-beam laser sensor is connected to the system control unit (46) and is configured to transmit counting data to the system control unit (Description of Embodiments: “That is, when the slit detection signal S is not repeatedly detected a predetermined number of times, the paper feed control unit 46 sets the first threshold value Tth at which the duration T of the slit detection signal S is set as the upper limit of the normal detection time…”). Furthermore, neither Kamikura nor Mo teach that the counting slits are in one-to-one correspondence to the rivets; however, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art to correspond the slits with the rivets for assisting in maintaining count of the paper used. As discussed supra, Mo does use slits 39a and a laser beam system to aid with measuring the paper content that is being used and matching these slits to have a one to one correspondence to the rivets would still produce the same result of measuring the paper content that is being used. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide modified Li with the rivets on the steering drum as taught by Kamikura, as well as the sensor and disk taught by Mo, to enable rotation of the target paper while maintaining a count of the amount of paper rotated to determine when to change the paper.
Regarding claim 4, Mo teaches wherein the through-beam laser sensor (40) includes a U-shaped probe (40) (Figure 4); the outer edge of the counting disk is inserted into an opening of the U-shaped probe (Fig. 4); the U-shaped probe is fixedly connected to the paper releasing box and/or the paper collecting box (Fig. 4); the opening of the U-shaped probe is provided with a laser emitter (40a) on one side and with a laser receiver (40b) on the other side; when any of the counting slits of the counting disk rotates to the U-shaped probe, the laser receiver receives a laser signal so as to realize counting (Description of Embodiments, paragraph 18, “In the process in which the rotating disk…”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide the steering drum of modified Li with the laser sensor as taught by Mo to track the amount of target paper rolled/used to determine when to change it.
Claims 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Feng further in view of Kim (KR 102425550 B1).
Regarding claim 10, Li does not explicitly teach a bullet collecting box arranged at a back side of the backing plate. However, Kim teaches a bullet collecting box (50) (Fig. 4) arranged at a back side of a plate (1) (Abstract). The features of the plate taught by Kim, such as the bullet collection box, could be used in the backing plate of Li. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide Li with the bullet collecting box taught by Kim, to collect any bullets and fragments after shooting practice.
Regarding claim 12, Li does not explicitly teach a lightweight bulletproof plate arranged on a front wall of the paper releasing box and that it is made of a bulletproof material. However, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a bullet-proof covering on the enclosure consisting of the paper-releasing apparatus to prevent bullets from damaging the paper-releasing apparatus upon shooting practice. Furthermore, Feng teaches a “cover” for the paper releasing box (base-11) (Fig. 2) enclosing the paper-releasing apparatus (paragraphs 49-50). Furthermore, Kim teaches a bulletproof steel plate (30) “made of an alloy steel material so that various firearms and bullets can be safely used”. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide the paper releasing box of Li with a bullet-proof cover or plate as taught by Feng, that is made of a bulletproof material as taught by Kim, to prevent bullets from damaging the paper-releasing apparatus upon shooting practice.
Claims 11 and 13 are rejected over Li in view of Feng, further in view of Kim, further in view of Chang (TW M559493 U)
Regarding claim 11, Li does not explicitly teach the limitations of claim 11. However, Kim teaches wherein the bullet collecting box (50) is a closed rectangular box (Figs. 2-4); the front wall (60) is made of a material that bullets can easily penetrate (Description of Embodiments: “The main body 30 serves to safely collect the warhead penetrating through the rubber pad 60”), and a back wall is made of a bulletproof material (Description of Embodiments: “Such a body 30 is made of an alloy steel material so that various firearms and bullets can be safely used”). Kim does not teach two sides of a front wall are each provided with an outward-turned plate-shaped insertion lug; the back side of the backing plate is provided with two vertical insertion grooves arranged in parallel, which are open at the top and inward; the insertion lugs are inserted into the insertion grooves on the corresponding sides from top to bottom. However, this method of attachment is not novel and is commonly used in various arts. In this regard, Chang teaches wherein two sides of a front wall (20) (Fig. 2) are each provided with an outward-turned plate-shaped insertion lug (22); the back side (12) of the backing plate is provided with two vertical insertion grooves (151) arranged in parallel, which are open at the top and inward (Fig. 2); the insertion lugs are inserted into the insertion grooves on the corresponding sides from top to bottom (Mode for Invention: “the joint portion 22 is placed or withdrawn from the joint hole 151 of the frame portion 15”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide modified Li with a rectangular bullet-collecting box, as taught by Kim, and to provide the target front wall with a material that bullets can easily penetrate and a back wall that is made of a bulletproof material, as well as to provide the structure of Chang for inserting the front wall on the backing plate, to enable a safe means of collecting bullets during shooting practice.
Regarding claim 13, Kim teaches wherein the bulletproof material includes a rubber bullet-absorbing plate (60) and a bulletproof steel plate (40 and 30) that are sequentially stacked in a direction of bullet firing (Fig. 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention to provide the plate of Li with a bulletproof material that includes a rubber bullet-absorbing plate and a bulletproof steel plate that are sequentially stacked in a direction of bullet firing to enable shock absorption of the bullet and a safe means of collecting bullets during shooting practice.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections 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.
Claims 6-9 are 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.
Regarding claim 6, Li teaches a target paper roll changing and adjusting mechanism arranged at the reel (5). Li does not explicitly teach wherein the target paper roll changing and adjusting mechanism includes a first movable gear, a second movable gear, a first target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure, a second target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure, a beveled target paper support frame, and a third target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure; wherein the first movable gear and the second movable gear are respectively inserted into two ends of a hollow target paper roll to play a role in fixing the target paper roll; the second target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure is arranged below the first movable gear, and drives the first movable gear to horizontally move leftward and rightward, so as to realize combination and complete separation of the first movable gear and the hollow target paper roll; the first target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure is arranged outside the first movable gear, and drives the first movable gear to horizontally move slightly leftward and rightward, thereby adjusting a degree of combination between the first movable gear and the hollow target paper roll; the third target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure is arranged between the first movable gear and the second movable gear, is fixedly connected with the beveled target paper support frame, and drives the beveled target paper support frame to horizontally move forward and backward; the beveled target paper support frame is arranged below the target paper roll.
However, Yu (US 20160340070 A1) teaches gears on a paper winding device. Furthermore, Satoh (EP 1348660 A2) teaches a first movable support (42a) (Fig. 5), a second movable support (42b), a second target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure (3), a target paper support frame (40); wherein the first movable and second movable supports are respectively inserted into two ends of a hollow target paper roll (W) to play a role in fixing the target paper roll (Fig. 5, Abstract), the second target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure (3) is arranged below the first movable support (42a) (Fig. 5), and drives the first movable gear to horizontally move leftward and rightward (page 6, column 9, paragraph 24). The gears of Yu can be substituted for the supports of Satoh.
Neither teaches a first target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure, a beveled target paper support frame, and a third target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure; complete separation of the first movable gear and the hollow target paper roll; the first target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure is arranged outside the first movable gear, and drives the first movable gear to horizontally move slightly leftward and rightward, thereby adjusting a degree of combination between the first movable gear and the hollow target paper roll; the third target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure is arranged between the first movable gear and the second movable gear, is fixedly connected with the beveled target paper support frame, and drives the beveled target paper support frame to horizontally move forward and backward. Therefore, claim 6 may be allowable once the objections are addressed and reexamined.
Regarding claim 7, Li fails to teach wherein the first target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure includes a first adjusting knob, a vertical strong spring, a horizontal strong spring and a force steering assembly; a lower end of the first adjusting knob is connected with the vertical strong spring, a bottom end of the vertical strong spring is connected with one end of the force steering assembly, the other end of the force steering assembly is connected with one end of the horizontal strong spring, and the other end of the horizontal strong spring is connected with the first movable gear. Therefore, claim 7 may be allowable once the objections above are addressed and re-examined.
Regarding claim 8, Li fails to teach wherein the second target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure includes a first movable block, a first horizontal adjusting rod, two first positioning rods, a second adjusting knob, a first adjusting rod supporting block and a second adjusting rod supporting block; the first movable gear is arranged on the first movable block; the first movable block is internally provided with three horizontal through holes, including one threaded hole and two positioning holes with smooth inner walls; the first horizontal adjusting rod provided with an external thread is threadably inserted into the threaded hole, and the two first positioning rods with smooth surfaces are respectively inserted into the two positioning holes; an inner end of the first horizontal adjusting rod and inner ends of the two first positioning rods are connected with the first adjusting rod supporting block, the other ends of the two first positioning rods are connected with the second adjusting rod supporting block, and the other end of the first horizontal adjusting rod passes through the second adjusting rod supporting block and is then fixedly connected with the second adjusting knob. Therefore, claim 8 may be allowable once the objections above are addressed and re-examined.
Regarding claim 9, Li fails to teach wherein the third target paper roll mounting and dismounting structure includes a second movable block, a second horizontal adjusting rod, two second positioning rods, a third adjusting knob, a third adjusting rod supporting block and a fourth adjusting rod supporting block; the beveled target paper support frame is arranged on the second movable block; the second movable block is internally provided with three horizontal through holes, including one threaded hole and two positioning holes with smooth inner walls; the second horizontal adjusting rod provided with an external thread is threadably inserted into the threaded hole, and the two second positioning rods with smooth surfaces are respectively inserted into the two positioning holes; an inner end of the second horizontal adjusting rod and inner ends of the two second positioning rods are connected with the third adjusting rod supporting block, the other ends of the two second positioning rods are connected with the fourth adjusting rod supporting block, and the other end of the second horizontal adjusting rod passes through the fourth adjusting rod supporting block and is then fixedly connected with the third adjusting knob. Therefore, claim 9 may be allowable once the objections above are addressed and re-examined.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SABA ALI whose telephone number is (571)272-0268. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eugene Kim can be reached at 571-272-4463. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SABA N. ALI/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3711 /EUGENE L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3711