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 . Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the drawing sheet numbering must be larger than the numbers used as reference characters. See 37 C.F.R. 1.84(t).
Additionally, the operation handle (10) recited in Claim 1, line 5, is not identified in the drawings. See 37 C.F.R. 1.84(p)(5).
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, 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 Objections
Regarding each of Claim 1, line 2, line 5, line 7, and line 9, and Claim 20, line 3, perhaps the language “installed to” should be changed to, e.g., “coupled to” or “installed on” (if fully supported in the Specification).
Regarding Claim 1, line 13, perhaps the term “together” should be changed to “together with the operating handle” or similar language (if fully supported in the Specification).
Regarding Claim 7, the last line, it appears that the language “the form” should be changed to “a form.”
Regarding Claim 17, line 2, perhaps the term “that” should be changed to “such that.”
Regarding Claim 18, line 3, perhaps the term “that” should be changed to “such that.”
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.
Claims 1-20 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.
Specifically, regarding Claim 1, line 6, it is not clear how the indication of the “closed position and the open position” is provided. It appears only a handle position is identified (e.g., left or right, up or down) by visual inspection but a status for “closed” or “open” does not appear be indicated.
Regarding Claim 1, the last two lines, it is not clear if the indication is made when the operation handle rotates “between” the “closed position to the open position” or when the handle rotated “from” the “closed position to the open position.”
Regarding Claim 2, line 8, there is no antecedent basis for the language “first direction.”
Regarding Claim 10, line 3, there is no antecedent basis for the language “other end.”
Regarding Claim 14, lines 3-4, there is no antecedent basis for the language “other end.”
Regarding Claim 17, line 6, it is not clear what is meant by the language “first driving element.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arenz et al. (U.K. Pat. Pub. No. GB 2279810 A, hereinafter “Arenz,” a copy of which was provided by Applicant on August 7, 2024).
Specifically, regarding Claim 1, Arenz discloses a bidirectional operation mechanism for a switching device (Abstract), the bidirectional operation mechanism being installed to [on] the switching device (Abstract), wherein the bidirectional operation mechanism comprises a housing (not labeled but see FIG. 1), an operation handle (10; FIG. 1), rotatably installed to [on] the housing (FIG. 1), capable of rotating between a closed position and an open position (col. 4, ll. 9-17), and indicating the closed position and the open position (via a position of handle 10), a first driving member (53), rotatably installed to [on] [on] the housing (FIG. 9), fixedly connected to the operation handle (10) and capable of rotating together with the operation handle (10; via 54, FIG. 1), a second driving member (52; FIG. 9), rotatably installed to [on] the housing (FIG. 9), operatively connected to the first driving member (53) and the switching device (FIG. 9, e.g., via 6), wherein, upon an external force acting on the operation handle (10) to drive the operation handle (10) to rotate between the closed position and the open position, the operation handle (10) drives the first driving member (53) to rotate together (via 10; FIG. 9), so that the first driving member (53) abuts against and drives the second driving member (52) to rotate (via spring 51; FIG. 9), thereby enabling the switching device to perform a closing operation and an opening operation (p. 1, ll. 1-4), upon the switching device performing the closing operation and the opening operation under an action of a driving force of the switching device itself (via spring 51; FIG. 9), the switching device is able to drive the second driving member (52) to rotate, so that the second driving member (52) abuts against and drives the first driving member (53) to rotate (via a coupling of 51, 52, and 53; FIG. 9), thereby driving the operation handle (10) to rotate, so as to indicate the closed position or the open position (p. 3, 25-28, p. 4, ll. 26-32).
Regarding Claim 20, Arenz discloses a switching device assembly, wherein the switching device assembly comprises a switching device and the bidirectional operation mechanism according to claim 1, the bidirectional operation mechanism is installed to [on] the switching device (Abstract, FIG. 1).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arenz in view of Dauer et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,733,199 B2, hereinafter “Dauer”).
Arenz discloses substantially all of the limitations of the present invention but does not disclose the claimed transmission member and trigger member.
However, Dauer discloses a transmission member (40; FIG. 4), capable of pivoting between an abutting position (upon actuation in direction H2, 61 in contact with 30; FIG. 3), and a disengaged position (61 in the dashed position; FIG. 3), and a trigger member (30), capable of pivoting between a locked position (the solid-lined member 30; FIG. 4) and an unlocked position (the dashed-lined member 30; FIG. 4) under an action of an electromagnet (12; FIG. 3) associated with the trigger member (FIGS. 3 and 4), wherein, in the locked position of the trigger member, the trigger member (14) is located on a pivoting path of the transmission member along the first direction (FIG. 4), is able to abut against the transmission member in the abutting position and prevent the transmission member from pivoting in the first direction (FIGS. 3 and 4), upon the transmission member being in the disengaged position, the trigger member (14) does not abut against the transmission member (FIG. 4), the first direction corresponds to a rotating direction of the operation handle (10) from the closed position to the open position, in the unlocked position of the trigger member (14), the trigger member (14) is not located on the pivoting path of the transmission member (44) along the first direction and does not abut against the transmission member (e.g., when 30 is in the dashed position of FIG. 4).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to pivotally arrange the transmission and trigger member of Arenz on the second driving member of Dauer to provide electrically controlled movement and actuation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY R. JIMENEZ whose telephone number is 313-446-6518. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 1030am - 9pm.
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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.
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/ANTHONY R JIMENEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833