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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Paragraphs 0043-0044 of the specification dated 12/14/23 state that Figures 3-5 depict the angle transmission clutch 54 in an engaged state, and Figures 6-8 depict the angle transmission clutch in a disengaged state. However, the drawings illustrate the opposite configurations (Figures 3-5 show the disengaged state, and Figures 6-8 show the engaged state). The figures referenced in paragraphs 0043-0044 should be corrected to match what is shown in the drawings.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Osterholz (U.S. Patent No. 3,463,219).
Regarding claim 1, Osterholz discloses a drive device for a vertical window blind [FIG. 1], comprising:
a driving connecting rod (the driving connecting rod is defined by the crank 31 shown in Figure 4) having a receiving pin (lower portion of the crank 31) and a first connecting portion (upper portion of the crank 31), the receiving pin being provided at one end of the driving connecting rod, and the first connecting portion being provided at the other end of the driving connecting rod [FIG. 4] (see annotated drawing below), wherein the receiving pin is used to receive a window blind operating device (body of the crank 31) so as to axially rotate in a vertical direction by a rotational driving force from the window blind operating device (column 4, lines 23-29; column 5, lines 35-37);
a driving screw rod (220) having a second connecting portion (lower portion of the screw rod 220) and a driving screw gear (210), the second connecting portion being provided at one end of the driving screw rod, the driving screw gear being formed on a peripheral surface of the driving screw rod [FIG. 4], wherein the second connecting portion of the driving screw rod is connected with the first connecting portion of the driving connecting rod so that the driving screw rod is driven by the driving connecting rod to axially rotate in the vertical direction (the connection between the first and second connecting portions is shown in Figure 4--see annotated drawing below; column 5, lines 35-37 discloses rotation of the driving screw rod 220 via the driving connecting rod 31); and
an open-and-close transmission rod (rod formed by shaft 160, gear 27, and coupling 170, shown in Figure 3) having an open-and-close transmission screw gear (27), wherein an open-and-close transmission output joint (170) is provided at one end of the open-and-close transmission rod, the open-and-close transmission screw gear is formed on a peripheral surface of the open-and-close transmission rod [FIG. 3], the open-and-close transmission screw gear is engaged with the driving screw gear (driving screw gear 210 is coupled to the open-and-close transmission screw gear 27 via gears 200, 29, and 28 as shown in Figure 3) in a manner that a vertically axial rotation is converted to a horizontally axial rotation (via bevel gear engagement between gears 210 and 200) so that the open-and-close transmission rod is driven by the driving screw rod to axially rotate in a horizontal direction, and the open-and-close transmission output joint is used for connecting with a slat open-and-close control screw (10) of the vertical window blind to drive the slat open-and-close control screw to axially rotate in the horizontal direction (column 5, lines 7-37; column 4, lines 51-55),
wherein the driving connecting rod drives the slat open-and-close control screw to axially rotate in the horizontal direction by the rotational driving force from the window blind operating device (column 4, lines 51-55), and thereby the slat open-and-close control screw rotates to horizontally open or horizontally close a plurality of slats (6) slidably disposed on the slat open-and-close control screw (operation of the open-and-close control screw 10 is driven by the connecting rod 31 via the geared engagement shown in Figures 3-4).
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Regarding claim 4, Osterholz discloses an angle transmission rod (rod formed by shaft 180, gear 240, and coupling 250) having an angle transmission screw gear (240), an angle transmission output joint (250) being provided at one end of the angle transmission rod [FIG. 3], the angle transmission screw gear being formed on a peripheral surface of the angle transmission rod [FIG. 3], the angle transmission screw gear being engaged with the driving screw gear (via geared engagement between 210, 200, 29, 28, 27, 230, and 240) in a manner that the vertically axial rotation is converted to the horizontally axial rotation so that the angle transmission rod is driven by the driving screw rod to axially rotate in the horizontal direction (the vertical rotation of the driving connecting rod 31 is transferred to horizontal rotation via bevel gears 210 and 200), and the angle transmission output joint being used for connecting with a slat angle control shaft (11) of the vertical window blind to drive the slat angle control shaft to axially rotate in the horizontal direction, wherein the driving connecting rod drives the slat angle control shaft to axially rotate in the horizontal direction by the rotational driving force from the window blind operating device, and thereby the slat angle control shaft rotates to angle the slats (column 4, lines 55-61; column 3, lines 60-75).
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.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Osterholz (U.S. Patent No. 3,463,219) in view of Sommerfeld (U.S. Patent No. 5,894,877).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Osterholz discloses that the first connecting portion of the driving connecting rod (31; see annotated drawing above) is connected with the second connecting portion of the driving screw rod (220), but does not disclose that it is connected in a torque-limiting manner.
Nonetheless, Sommerfeld discloses a drive device including a first connecting portion (39a) connected with a second connecting portion (38b) in a torque-limiting manner so that when the rotational driving force from a window blind operating device is greater than a preset torque value, the first connecting portion slips relative to the second connecting portion such that the second connecting portion is not driven to rotate by the first connecting portion (column 2, lines 51-63); wherein the first connecting portion is provided with a connecting hole (39a, connecting hole shown in at least Figure 6), the second connecting portion is provided with a connecting pin (38b, shown in Figure 3), and the first connecting portion is connected with the second connecting portion by inserting the connecting pin into the connecting hole [FIGS. 3, 6] (column 2, lines 51-63).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the first and second connecting portions of Osterholz to include the torque-limiting connection taught by Sommerfeld, including a connecting hole and pin configuration, in order to prevent transmission of excessive torque to the operating mechanism that could strip teeth of the gears or otherwise damage the assembly.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Osterholz (U.S. Patent No. 3,463,219) in view of Frentzel (U.S. Patent No. 4,381,811).
Regarding claim 5, Osterholz discloses that the angle transmission output joint is connected with the angle transmission rod via an angle transmission clutch (260); wherein when the angle transmission clutch is in an engaged state (compression of the spring clutch 260 with friction below the threshold), the angle transmission output joint is engaged with the angle transmission rod and axially rotates in the horizontal direction along with the angle transmission rod (column 5, lines 18-27; column 4, lines 30-49), and when the angle transmission clutch is in a disengaged state (friction above the threshold such that the spring clutch 260 and gear 240 rotate independently of the output joint 250), the angle transmission output joint is disconnected from the angle transmission rod and is not driven by the angle transmission rod (column 5, lines 18-27; column 4, lines 30-49). Osterholz does not explicitly disclose an open-and-close transmission clutch.
Nonetheless, Frentzel discloses a drive device comprising an open-and-close transmission output joint (321) connected to an open-and-close transmission rod (331) via an open-and-close transmission clutch (), wherein when the open-and-close transmission clutch is in an engaged state (state in which teeth 327a engage teeth 323), the open-and-close transmission output joint is engaged with the open-and-close transmission rod and axially rotates in the horizontal direction along with the open-and-close transmission rod (column 5, lines 18-29), and when the open-and-close transmission clutch is in a disengaged state (state in which the teeth 327a are disengaged from teeth 323), the open-and-close transmission output joint is disconnected from the open-and-close transmission rod and is not driven by the open-and-close transmission rod (column 6, lines 12-17).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the open-and-close transmission output mechanism of Osterholz to include the clutch taught by Frentzel, in order to prevent overdriving of the open-and-close drive mechanism that could damage the travelers, the slats, the gears, or other parts of the drive device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-10 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABE L MASSAD whose telephone number is (571)272-6292. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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/ABE MASSAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634