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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 20-22, 24, 28, 33, 36, 38, 41, 42, 47, 48, 50, 51, 54, and 58 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "a third driving member" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because neither “a first driving member” nor “a second driving member” have been introduced in the proceeding claim (claim 1), thus the term “third” in the claim causes ambiguity regarding the scope of the claim.
As claims 21, 22, 24, 28, 33, 36, 38, 41, 42, and 47 depend upon claim 20, either directly or indirectly, they are likewise considered to be indefinite or ambiguous.
Claim 48 recites the limitations "a second lifting plate" in line 3, and “a third buffer component” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim because neither “a first lifting plate” nor “a first buffer component or a second buffer component” have been introduced in the proceeding claim (claim 1), thus the terms “second lifting plate” and “third buffer component” in the claim causes ambiguity regarding the scope of the claim.
As claims 50, 51, and 54 depend upon claim 48, they are likewise considered to be indefinite or ambiguous.
Claim 58 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite in that it fails to point out what is included or excluded by the claim language, i.e., the structural elements that would define, describe, or exclude “an experimental apparatus, comprising an experimental platform and a bottle cap opening and closing device” from, e.g., a jar lid opening apparatus like that of Marsaw (discussed below) that is rested on a table or countertop, are not recited in the claim. This claim is an omnibus type claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale
supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7, and 20 and 21, as well as understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5,345,844 A to (Marsaw).
Regarding claim 1, (Marsaw) discloses a jar lid opener apparatus 10, comprising: a base (base housing 11); a bottle body clamping mechanism (container chuck 34 having an integral chuck base 36) which is rotatably arranged on the base (11) and is used for clamping a bottle body (jar body); a first buffer mechanism (a friction sphere 58 driven by a sphere spring 59) which is arranged between the bottle body (jar body) clamping mechanism (container chuck 34) and the base (11)(“ An annular chuck base groove 37 directed into the chuck base 36 receives a friction sphere 58 driven by a sphere spring 59 to direct the sphere into the groove 57 to temporarily arrest rotation of the chuck base 36”; Col. 4, lines 62-66; Fig. 6); a bottle cap (jar lid) clamping mechanism (mounting plate 20 includes first and second arcuate jaws 22 and 23 arranged in a facing mirror image relationship relative to one another, with a drive shaft 28; Figs. 1 and 2; Col. 3, lines 23-55) which is arranged opposite the bottle body clamping mechanism (container chuck 34) and is used for clamping a bottle cap (jar lid); and a rotation driving mechanism (50) which is in driving connection with the bottle body clamping mechanism (container chuck 34) and drives the bottle body clamping mechanism -
(container chuck 34 includes “a rotatable annular disc positioned within the base housing 11 between the housing top and bottom walls 13 and 17 and projecting exteriorly of the side walls 16 through side wall slots 16a, such as illustrated in FIG. 4. The annular disc 35 is fixedly mounted to a chuck base 36 extending from the annular disc 35 projecting through the base housing top wall 13, such that the chuck base includes a chuck base top wall 37 mounting a plurality of support bosses mounted orthogonally and fixedly to the chuck base top wall 37 positioned in an annular array onto the chuck base top wall 37 positioned adjacent a periphery of the chuck base top wall 37 such that each support boss 38 includes a support boss mounting wall 39 spaced from and parallel relative to the chuck base top wall 37, with each mounting wall 39 having a crank arm 40 mounted thereon. Each crank arm 40 includes an arcuate jaw 41 pivotally mounted at a first end of each crank arm 40, with each crank arm arcuate jaw 41 having a resilient jaw face 42 of semi-cylindrical configuration to engage a jar body. The crank arm arcuate jaw 41 is mounted to the first end of the crank arm 40 about a jaw pivot axle 43 (see FIG. 8), with a second end of the crank arm 40 including a crank arm shaft 44 fixedly mounted to the crank arm 40 in an orthogonal relationship extending through the respective support boss 38 projecting into the chuck base 36. The lowermost distal end of each crank arm shaft 44 includes an actuator leg 46 fixedly mounted to the lowermost distal end of the crank: arm shaft 44, with the actuator leg 46 substantially orthogonally oriented relative to the crank arm 40. It should be further noted that each support boss 38 includes a support boss abutment wall 45 extending from each support boss 38 to provide for an abutment wall relative to each of the crank arms 40 and their associated arcuate jaws 41 to prevent excessive radial displacement of each crank arm arcuate jaw 41 relative to the chuck 34. Reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 indicates the use of a rotary actuator table 48 rotatably mounted in adjacency to the base housing bottom wall 17, such that the rotary actuator table 48 includes a table top wall 49 spaced from a table bottom wall 52 such that the table top wall 49 includes a plurality of abutment lugs 50 orthogonally mounted to the table top wall 40 in an annular array, wherein each abutment lug 50 is positioned in adjacency to one of the actuator legs 46 spaced from an associated crank arm shaft 44. The actuator table bottom wall includes an actuator table socket 51 arranged to rotatably receive a bottom wall pilot shaft 53 fixedly mounted to the base housing bottom wall to rotatably and coaxially mount the actuator table 48 between the chuck base 36 and the base housing bottom wall, as illustrated in the FIGS. 5 and 6. An annular gear rack 54 is mounted fixedly to the actuator table bottom wall 52 about the periphery of the bottom wall 52 in cooperative relationship with a rotary drive pinion 55 that in turn is mounted to a reversing motor 56 operative through conventional switching (not shown). An annular chuck base groove 37 directed into the chuck base 36 receives a friction sphere 58 driven by a sphere spring 59 to direct the sphere into the groove 57 to temporarily arrest rotation of the chuck base 36, whereupon rotation of the actuator table 48 directing the respective abutment lugs 50 to pivot the actuator legs 46 rotates the associated crank arm jaws 51 into engagement with an associated jar body, wherein continued rotation of the actuator table drives the chuck base in association with the actuator table whereupon subsequent to tightening of the jaws 41 relative to a jar body, the actuator table and the chuck base are in an interlocked relationship, whereupon continued drive of the drive motor continues to effect rotation of the jar body relative to an associated jar lid secured by the first and second jaws 22 and 23 to effect disassembly of an associated jar lid relative to a jar body.”; Col. 4, lines 4-68 and Col. 5, lines 1-11; Figs. 5-8) –
to rotate relative to the bottle cap clamping mechanism (mounting plate 20 includes first and second arcuate jaws 22 and 23 arranged in a facing mirror image relationship relative to one another, with a drive shaft 28; Figs. 1 and 2; Col. 3, lines 23-55) so as to enable the bottle body and the bottle cap to be relatively tightened or separated from each other.
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Regarding claim 2, in (Marsaw), the bottle body clamping mechanism (container chuck 34) comprises (see Figs. 5 and 6): a support seat (rotary actuator table 48); a drive mechanism (“An annular gear rack 54 is mounted fixedly to the actuator table bottom wall 52 about the periphery of the bottom wall 52 in cooperative relationship with a rotary drive pinion 55 that in turn is mounted to a reversing motor 56 operative through conventional switching (not shown)”; Col. 4, lines 57-62) which is arranged on the support seat (48); and a first clamping assembly (crank arm 40 including an arcuate jaw 41 and a crank arm shaft 44 with and actuator leg 46) and a second clamping assembly (crank arm 40 including an arcuate jaw 41 and a crank arm shaft 44 with and actuator leg 46) which are arranged opposite each other on the support seat (48), the drive mechanism being in driving connection (via a plurality of abutment lugs 50 orthogonally mounted to the table top wall 40 in an annular array, wherein each abutment lug 50 is positioned in adjacency to one of the actuator legs 46 spaced from an associated crank arm shaft 44; Figs. 5 and 6) with the first clamping assembly and/or the second clamping assembly and driving the first clamping assembly and/or the second clamping assembly to move, the first clamping assembly and the second clamping assembly being in cooperation with each other to clamp the bottle body (jar body; see Col. 4, lines 4-68 and Col. 5, lines 1-11; Figs. 5-8); wherein the first clamping assembly and/or the second clamping assembly are provided with a second buffer mechanism (“each crank arm arcuate jaw 41 having a resilient jaw face 42 of semi-cylindrical configuration to engage a jar body.”; Col. 4, lines 21-25; Figs. 5, 7 and 8).
Regarding claim 3, in (Marsaw), the second buffer mechanism (resilient jaw face 42) comprises a first buffer component (42), and the first clamping assembly comprises: a first connecting part (crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46) which is arranged on the support seat (rotary actuator table 48); and a first bottle body clamping part (crank arm 40 including an arcuate jaw 41) which is arranged at one side of the first connecting part (crank arm shaft 44 includes an actuator leg 46) near the second clamping assembly (another crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46, a crank arm 40, and an arcuate jaw 41), the first buffer component (42) being arranged between the first connecting part (crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46, a crank arm 40, and an arcuate jaw 41) and the first bottle body clamping part (arcuate jaw 41), and the first bottle body clamping part (crank arm 40 including an arcuate jaw 41) being movable relative to the first connecting part (crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46) through the first buffer component (resilient jaw face 42)(see annotated Fig. 4).
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Regarding claim 7, in (Marsaw), the second clamping assembly (another crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46, a crank arm 40, and an arcuate jaw 41) comprises a second bottle body (jar body) clamping part (arcuate jaw 41), and the second bottle body (jar body) clamping part (231) being arranged opposite to the first bottle body (jar body) clamping part (arcuate jaw 41) and being in cooperation with the first bottle body clamping part (arcuate jaw 41) to clamp the bottle body (jar body); wherein the second clamping assembly further comprises a second connecting part (crank arm shaft 44 including an actuator leg 46, and a crank arm 40), and the second connecting part is connected with the second bottle body (jar body) clamping part (arcuate jaw 41) and is arranged at one side of the second bottle body (jar body) clamping part (arcuate jaw 41) far from the first bottle body clamping part (arcuate jaw 41)(see annotated Fig. 4 on the previous page)).
Regarding claim 20, as well as understood, in (Marsaw), the bottle cap (jar lid) clamping mechanism (mounting plate 20 includes first and second arcuate jaws 22 and 23 arranged in a facing mirror image relationship relative to one another, with a drive shaft 28; Figs. 1 and 2; Col. 3, lines 23-55) comprises: a body (mounting plate 20); a third driving member (drive shaft 28) which is arranged on the body (20); and a first gripper assembly (jaw 22 or jaw 23), the third driving member (drive shaft 28) being in driving connection (via “a right hand threaded portion 30 threadedly directed through the first jaw guide lug 26 and a left hand threaded portion 31 directed threadedly through the second guide lug 27 to effect displacement of the first and second arcuate jaws 22 and 23 towards and away from one another to permit grasping of a jaw lid therebetween”; Col. 3, lines 49-55) with the first gripper assembly (either jaw 22 with a first jaw guide lug 26 having a right hand thread, or jaw 23 with a second jaw guide lug 27 having a left hand thread – see Col. 2, lines 38-55; Fig. 2) to drive the first gripper assembly to clamp the bottle cap (jar lid).
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Regarding claim 21, as well as understood, in (Marsaw), the first gripper assembly comprises a plurality of clamping parts (first arcuate jaw 22 and second arcuate jaw 23), each of the clamping parts has a clamping surface, and the plurality of clamping parts are in cooperation with each other through a plurality of said clamping surfaces to clamp the bottle cap (refer to claim 20 and Fig. 2 on the previous page).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 58, as well as understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Marsaw), as applied to, inter alia, claim 1 above.
(Marsaw), as applied to claim 1 above, provides a bottle cap (jar lid) opening device as claimed, but does not explicitly state that the device is used to close a lid (jar lid) on the bottle (jar), or explicitly that the device is “an experimental apparatus, comprising an experimental platform…, wherein the bottle cap (jar lid) opening device is arranged on the ”experimental platform”, or any platform for that matter.
However, regarding the device of (Marsaw) being used to close a lid (jar lid) on the bottle (jar), the examiner notes that in Col. 4, lines 51-62, (Marsaw) discloses: “An annular gear rack 54 is mounted fixedly to the actuator table bottom wall 52 about the periphery of the bottom wall 52 in cooperative relationship with a rotary drive pinion 55 that in turn is mounted to a reversing motor 56 operative through conventional switching (not shown).”, thus implying or suggesting that the motor may be operated in a reverse direction in order to rotate the battle body (jar body) clamping mechanism to close a jar lid on the jar body.
And, regarding the absence of “an experimental platform”, or any platform for that matter, it would appear to have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, that a user of the device of (Marsaw) would place the device on a surface, be that a floor, a tabletop, a countertop, or other surface, as an obvious matter of subjecting the device to the physical reality of gravity, i.e., the device of (Marsaw) does not float in the air.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 8, 12, 14, 16, 19, and 57 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if claims 4, 8, 12, 16, 19, and 57 are rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding claim 4, that the first buffer component comprises a first elastic member, one end of the first elastic member being connected to the first connecting part, and the other end of the first elastic member being connected to the first bottle body clamping part; wherein the first elastic member is a first spring; wherein the first buffer component further comprises a first guide rod, the first guide rod being arranged between the first connecting part and the first bottle body clamping part and being used for guiding the movement of the first bottle body clamping part relative to the first connecting part: wherein the first spring is wound around the first guide rod; regarding claim 8, that the second buffer mechanism further comprises a second buffer component, the second buffer component is arranged between the second bottle body clamping part and the second connecting part, one end of the second buffer component is connected to the second bottle body clamping part, the other end of the second buffer component is connected to the second connecting part, and the second bottle body clamping part is movable relative to the second connecting part through the second buffer component; regarding claim 12, that one end of the first bottle body clamping part near the second bottle body clamping part has a first bottle body clamping surface, and a contact region between the first bottle body clamping surface and the bottle body is at a cambered surface or a planar surface of the first bottle body clamping surface, or there are a plurality of contact regions between the first bottle body clamping surface and the bottle body and an angle is formed between the plurality of contact regions of the first bottle body clamping surface; one end of the second bottle body clamping part near the first bottle body clamping part has a second bottle body clamping surface, and the second bottle body clamping surface and the first bottle body clamping surface have a same structure or have a mirror symmetrical structure; regarding claim 16, that the driving mechanism comprises a first driving assembly, the first driving assembly is connected to the first clamping assembly to move the first clamping assembly in a direction facing to or opposite the second clamping assembly; the driving mechanism further comprises a second driving assembly, and the second driving assembly is in driving connection with the second clamping assembly to move the second clamping assembly in a direction facing to or opposite the first clamping assembly; regarding claim 19, that the bottle body clamping mechanism further comprises: a sensor which is arranged on the support seat and is used for detecting whether there is a bottle body between the first clamping assembly and the second clamping assembly; and, regarding claim 57, that the bottle cap opening and closing device further comprises a moving mechanism, the bottle cap clamping mechanism being arranged on the moving mechanism, and the moving mechanism driving the bottle cap clamping mechanism to move, together in combination with the rest of the limitations in the independent claim and any intervening claim, has neither been disclosed nor suggested by the prior art of record considered as a whole, alone, or in combination.
Claims 22, 24, 28, 33, 36, 38, 41, 42, 47, 48, 50, 51, and 54 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) 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, as containing limitations that distinguish the claimed invention over that of the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as describing a variety of devices for opening/closing caps/lids of containers that describe elements related to the present application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David B. Thomas whose telephone number is (571) 272-4497. The examiner’s e-mail address is: dave.thomas@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 11:30-7:30.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Posigian can be reached on (. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/David B. Thomas/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DBT/