CTFR 18/505,669 CTFR 96464 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Amendment The amendment to the title of the disclosure is acknowledged. The previous objection to the specification for the title being non-descriptive is overcome and accordingly withdrawn. The amendments to claims 1 and 3-7 and addition of claims 9-12 are acknowledged. The amendments to claim 4 overcome the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(a) rejection and are accordingly withdrawn. The amendments to claim 5 overcome the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection and are accordingly withdrawn. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1, 3, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasapi et al. (CH 699165 B1, hereinafter “Kasapi”) in view of Koike (US 20180348706 A1) . Regarding Claim 1 , Kasapi discloses a timepiece [abstract] comprising: a movement [0008] including a plurality of timepiece components [0009]; and a dial (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) being provided above the movement [fig. 2, above and below the movement], wherein the movement includes: a first hand shaft (shaft for 15) to which a first hand (15) is attached; a second hand shaft (shaft for 16) to which a second hand (16) is attached; and an escapement speed control mechanism (12) including a balance and a balance bush configured to support the balance pivotally [figs. 2-3], the dial includes a lower plate (6, 7, 8) [0016, may be a single plate] and an upper plate (4) provided on the lower plate, and the upper and lower plates have the same size in a plan view [fig. 3], the lower plate includes: a lower plate ring portion (edge/circumference portions of 6, 7, 8) provided along an outer circumference [fig. 3]; and a frame portion (inner ribs/partitions of 6, 7, 8) [0016] coupled to an inner circumference of the lower plate ring portion [fig. 3], the upper plate (4) includes: an upper plate ring portion (5) provided along an outer circumference [fig. 2]; and a bridge portion (inner ribs/partitions of 4) coupled to an inner circumference of the upper plate ring portion [fig. 2] [0012], a lower plate opening is formed in the lower plate, the lower plate opening being defined by the lower plate ring portion and the frame portion (several openings formed by the absence of the frame portion and the ring portion) [fig. 3], an upper plate opening is formed in the upper plate, the upper plate opening being defined by the upper plate ring portion and the bridge portion (several openings formed by the absence of the bridge portion and the ring portion) [fig. 2], at least part of the frame portion is aligned with the upper plate opening in the plan view [0014, parts of the frame portion 6, 7, 8 may not be cutout to match the bridge portion 4], at least part of the lower plate opening is aligned with the upper plate opening in the plan view [fig. 2], and the bridge portion includes: a first through hole into which the first hand shaft and the second hand shaft are insertable [figs. 2]; and a third through hole [fig. 2, where 12 is located] formed at a position overlapping with the balance bush in the plan view [fig. 2]. Kasapi does not explicitly disclose a first through hole and a second through hole into which the first hand shaft and the second hand shaft are insertable, respectively. Instead the first hand shaft and the second hand shaft are provided in the same through hole for the minute/hour hands. However, Kasapi does disclose that the addition of a watch display such as a power reserve indicator is possible with the embodiments presented [0021]. Koike discloses a timepiece movement that includes in the 12-o'clock position a power reserve hand, which displays the remaining wound quantity of a movement barrel [0053]. Koike also discloses a partial skeleton display section (16) provided at the 9-o’clock position. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine what is taught in the disclosure of Koike for where and how to implement a power reserve indicator in combination with a partial skeleton display with the disclosure of Kasapi to achieve a timepiece in which the bridge portion of the upper plate includes a first through hole and a second through hole into which the first hand shaft and the second hand shaft are insertable, respectively. The first and second hands as a result of this combination being the hour or minute hand for the first hand, and the power reserve indicator for the second hand. Kasapi already suggests including a power reserve indicator hand [0021] and also provides that the dial does not need to be a complete skeleton but the bottom plate can provide only a partial skeleton [0020]. From what is already provided a person of ordinary skill in the art would find providing the power reserve indicator suggested by Kasapi in a position like that shown by Koike in order to fill in the gap of the missing details for how to implement a power reserve indicator and because it provides a location which appears easy to read separate from the hour/minute hands of the dial. Providing a similar location to Kasapi would require using a different through hole in the bridge portion than the hour/minute hands, which is no problem given the number of through holes available, resulting in a timepiece meeting all of the limitations of claim 1 following the obvious combination. Regarding Claim 3 , Kasapi and Koike disclose the timepiece of claim 1, and Kasapi further discloses a plurality of function parts (15, 16) being attached to a front surface of the upper plate [fig. 2]. Regarding Claim 6 , Kasapi and Koike disclose the timepiece of claim 1, and further disclose that the first hand and the second hand are-hands selected from a power reserve hand (Koike 24), a sub-seconds hand, a counting hand (Kasapi 15 or 16), a moon phase indicator hand, and a date indicator hand (counting hand and power reserve indicator hand, see rejection of claim 1 above) Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 9-12 are allowed. 13-03 AIA The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Regarding Claim 9 , prior art does not disclose a lower plate meeting all of the limitations of claim 1 and also including a logo display portion which would be viewable through the claimed upper plate opening. Regarding Claim 10 , prior art does not disclose, taken alone or in combination, a timepiece including a dial comprising the upper plate and lower plate and their corresponding limitations in claim 10 and additionally a hand shaft to which a sub-seconds hand is attached and a function part is a sub-seconds hand indicator part for displaying indicators of the sub- seconds hand, the sub-seconds hand indicator part having an arc shape, the sub-seconds hand indicator part includes a notch portion overlapping with the upper plate opening and the lower plate opening, and visible timepiece components of the plurality of timepiece components including the escapement speed control mechanism are visible via the notch portion, the lower plate opening, and the upper plate opening. Koike is the closest related prior art but instead of a sub-seconds hand it discloses a date indicator sub dial and it does not provide for the notch limitations or the date indicator functional part having the escapement speed control mechanism visible in any way through the date indicator. Claims 11-12 depend on claim 10 and are allowable therein . Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2, 4-5, and 7-8 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding Claim 2 , prior art does not disclose a lower plate meeting all of the limitations of claim 1 and also including a logo display portion which would be viewable through the claimed upper plate opening. Regarding Claim 4 , Kasapi and Koike disclose the timepiece according to claim 3, and through their combination disclose wherein the plurality of function parts include a power reserve indicator part for displaying an indicator of a power reserve hand (see rejection of claim 1 above). However, the combination of Kasapi and Koike does not suggest including all of the functional parts of a sub-seconds hand indicator part for displaying an indicator of a sub- seconds hand; a decoration ring being provided at a position surrounding a periphery of the balance bush; and an hour mark in the timepiece of Kasapi. While Koike does disclose these components, the combination of all of these function parts with Kasapi would require significantly more than the obvious combination of including the power reserve indicator. The modification of Koike as a base reference with Kasapi does not work the same and would not reach all of the limitations of claim 1. Additional prior art also does not provide sufficient teaching or motivation to modify Kasapi and Koike to meet all of the limitations of claim 4. Regarding Claim 5 , Kasapi and Koike disclose the timepiece according to claim 1, and Kasapi includes multiple bridge support portions (inner ribs/partitions of 4) but the first through hole, second through hole, and third hole of Kasapi are not formed “in” the corresponding bridge portions. Instead they are formed in the gaps made by the bridge portions, and it cannot be said that the first support bridge portion, the second support bridge portion, and the third support bridge portion have width dimensions larger than that of the other bridge portions in the context of Kasapi. Additional prior art does not provide sufficient motivation to modify Kasapi or meet all of the limitations of claim 5 in on its own in addition to the limitations of claim 1. Regarding Claim 7 , Kasapi and Koike disclose the timepiece according to claim 6, and together disclose at a center position of the dial in the plan view, a hour hand shaft to which an hour hand is attached and a minute hand shaft to which a minute hand is attached are coaxially arranged (Kasapi base reference) [fig. 2], and one of the hand shafts is arranged in a 12 o'clock direction with respect to the hour hand shaft (Koike) [fig. 1]. However, Kasapi and Koike relied upon the first hand shaft being the hour hand/minute hand shaft. The combination of Kasapi and Koike for the reasons of the power reserve indicator hand do not extend to including another hand shaft arranged in a 6 o'clock direction with respect to the hour hand shaft, this hand being the sub-second hand, or that the balance bush is arranged in a 9 o'clock direction with respect to the hour hand shaft. Additional prior art not provide sufficient teaching or motivation to modify Kasapi and Koike to meet all of the limitations of claim 7. Regarding Claim 8 , it depends from claim 7 and is allowable therein . Conclusion 07-40 AIA Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 KEVIN A JOHNSTON whose telephone number is (571)272-4353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 7p.m. ET. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee Luebke can be reached at (571) 272-2009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /KEVIN ANDREW JOHNSTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /EDWIN A. LEON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 2 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 3 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 4 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 5 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 6 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 7 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 8 Art Unit: 2831 Application/Control Number: 18/505,669 Page 9 Art Unit: 2831
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