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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0147643 A1 (Maclean) in view of CN 109287086 A (Li).
With respect to claim 1: Maclean discloses a casing assembly (access panel assembly 102), comprising: a bezel body (panel 206), including at least one pair of hole structures (the two holes forming axis 318); a movable (handle 310) component provided with a shaft portion (pin 426).
Maclean does not disclose “and two collar components mounted on two opposite ends of the shaft portion, wherein the shape of the two collar components is adapted to that of the at least one pair of hole structures; wherein, the movable component is pivotally arranged in the at least one pair of hole structures through the two collar components, and the movable component and the two collar components are made of different materials” as claimed.
Li discloses two collar components (plastic sleeves 1231, 1232) mounted on two opposite ends of a shaft portion (pin shaft 121) of a movable component (handle 110), wherein the shape of the two collar components is adapted to that of at least one pair of hole structures (mounting holes 1111, 1112); wherein, the movable component is pivotally arranged in the at least one pair of hole structures through the two collar components, and the movable component and the two collar components are made of different materials (plastic sleeves 1231, 1232 and metal handle 110).
Maclean [0041] discloses forming components of different materials, including metal, plastic, and/or ceramic.
It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use. Li shows it is known to have a metal handle member with plastic sleeves on the rotating shaft thereof.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Maclean’s pin 426 to have Li’s plastic sleeves 1231, 1232 on the ends thereof and mounted in the holes of axis 318, and to modify Maclean’s handle 310/pin 426 to be made of metal.
With respect to claim 2: See the annotated image below. Maclean discloses wherein each of the hole structures includes a closed hole portion and an open hole portion, the closed hole portion and the open hole portion are connected along an axial direction (axis 318), and the open hole portion can be regarded as a hollowed area of the bezel body.
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With respect to claim 3: See the annotated image above. Maclean discloses wherein the closed hole portion and the open hole portion of one hole structure of the at least one pair of hole structures are symmetric with the closed hole portion and the open hole portion of the other hole structure of the at least one pair of hole structures.
With respect to claim 5: Maclean discloses wherein the movable component is provided with a handle portion (Figs. 7A-7C: the portion of handle 310 operated by a user) and a trigger portion (Figs. 3-4: the portion of handle connecting to the remainder of the assembly), the shaft portion is connected between the handle portion and the trigger portion (at first hole structure 411), and when the handle portion is actuated to pivotally rotate the shaft portion in the at least one pair of hole structures (as in Figs. 7A-7C), the trigger portion moves in a hollowed area of the bezel body (hollowed area shown in Figs. 3-4).
With respect to claim 8: Maclean, as modified, meets wherein the movable component is made of metal (the modified handle 310 and pin 426 are metal), and the two collar components are made of plastics (Li’s plastic sleeves 1231, 1232).
Maclean does not disclose the bezel body (panel 206) made of plastics as claimed. Maclean [0040]-[0041] discloses making components out of plastic, and plastic being a rigid material. It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Maclean’s panel 206 to be made of plastic, in order to make the panel rigid.
With respect to claim 9: Maclean discloses a trigger (Figs. 3-4: linkage 314 and/or one or more of the other components connected thereto), wherein the trigger and the movable component are arranged on two opposite sides of the bezel body (handle 310 on the outside; linkage 314, etc. on the inside), and when the movable component pivotally rotates in the at least one pair of hole structures, the movable component drives the trigger to move in the bezel body (Figs. 8A-8C).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0147643 A1 (Maclean) in view of CN 109287086 A (Li) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of US 2019/0394893 A1 (Wu).
With respect to claim 6: Maclean does not disclose “wherein the shaft portion, the handle portion and the trigger portion integrally form the movable component in one piece” as claimed.
Wu shows it is known in the art to have a movable component (pulling assembly 3) comprise a shaft portion (shaft 331), handle portion (pulling member 31), and trigger portion (sliding member 32) integrally formed and in one piece.
Maclean [0040] discloses forming components as a single piece, using a single and monolithic material.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Maclean’s handle 310 and pin 426 to be integrally formed in one piece, like Wu’s pulling assembly 3, as an obvious alternative to forming as separate pieces assembled together. The integral formation in one piece saves assembly time by eliminating the step of assembling the handle 310 and pin 426.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0147643 A1 (Maclean) in view of CN 109287086 A (Li) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CN 109089396 A (Ailin) and US 2022/0346244 A1 (Lu).
With respect to claim 10: Maclean does not disclose “a cover, wherein the cover and the movable component are arranged on two opposite sides of the bezel body, and the cover includes at least one pair of stopping structures respectively fixed on one side of the at least one pair of hole structures” as claimed.
Maclean Fig. 8A shows the handle 310 includes a stop 860 that engages the panel 206 at the handle support structure 332, to thereby prevent over-rotation of the handle 310 (Maclean [0052]).
Ailin shows it is known to have a cover (cover box 3) on the inside of a bezel body (cover board 1).
Lu shows it is known for a cover (mounting unit 32) to include a pair of stopping structures (resisting surfaces 3211) for a rotating handle member.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Maclean’s handle support structure 332 to have a cover (like Lu’s mounting unit 32) with two stopping structures (the resisting surfaces 3211), as an obvious alternative stopping means to the stop 860 on the handle 310.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 4 and 8 is/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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW ROERSMA whose telephone number is (571)270-3185. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at 571-270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW ROERSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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