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 Objections
Claim 3 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 3, line 10, “s_wing” should say “swing”
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-8, 11, 13-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (US 20200406950 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses a support switching mechanism (carrier 100) for a bearing device, wherein: the bearing device includes a main frame body (frame 10), and the support switching mechanism comprises: two fixing holders (outer cover 1) fixed to opposite sides of the main frame (figs.1-4), seat mode positioning portion (seat mode position figs.1 and 5-7A) and carrycot mode positioning portion (carrycot position fig.4 and 5-7A) being separated by an angle (figs.1-4); a bearing support with rotary holders (tubes 20 with inner cover 2, figs.1-4A), and the bearing support being configured to pivotably swing between a seat position (fig.1) and a carry cot position (figs.4); a switching assembly (operating member 3, locking member 4, driving member 5, figs.5-7) disposed on at least one of the rotary holders and having a driving lever (driving member 5 and operating member 3, figs.5-7) and a locking member (locking member 4, figs.5-7), wherein the driving lever is pulled by an external force, the locking member is driven to move away from its corresponding fixing holder (driving member 5 is pulled by the operating member 3 to drive the locking member 4 to unlock, figs.5-7), so that the bearing support is unlocked and allowed to pivotably swing between the seat position and the carrycot position (figs.5-7), and after the external force disappears, the locking member is driven to move towards its corresponding fixing holder to engage with one of the seat mode positioning portion and the carrycot mode positioning portion (elastic member 8 drives the driving member 5 which drives the locking member 4, figs.5-7), so that bearing support is locked.
Regarding claim 2, Wu discloses the locking member comprises an actuation portion (sliding pillar 41, figs.5-7) and an engagement portion (locking head 42, figs.5-7) extending laterally from one end of the actuation portion (fig.5A and 7A), wherein each of the seat mode positioning portion and the carrycot mode positioning portion is a positioning groove (locking portions 13, figs.5-7), and the locking member is engaged and locked when the engagement portion is inserted into one of the seat mode positioning portion and the carrycot mode positioning portion (locking head 42 engages locking portions 13, figs.5-7).
Regarding claim 3, Wu discloses wherein the driving lever has a force applying end (operating member 3, figs.5-7) and a force resisting end (driving member 5, figs.5-7) away from each other, as well as a shaft coupling portion (pivot shaft 6, figs.5-7) between them, wherein the switching assembly comprises a traction member (linkage between operating member 3 and driving member 5, figs.5-7, paragraph [0043]) connected to the force applying end, and the force resisting end is pivotably swingingly connected to the actuation portion (driving member 5 is pivotably swingingly connected to the sliding pillars 41, figs.5-7), so that the traction member makes the driving lever swing around an axis of the shaft coupling portion (pivot shaft 6, figs.5-7), while the force resisting end tows the actuation portion to make the locking member move (driving member 5 moves the locking members 4, figs.5-7).
Regarding claim 7, Wu discloses wherein the shaft coupling portion is a shaft hole (pivot shaft 6, figs.5-7), the rotary holder, on which the driving lever is disposed, has a pivoting shaft (pivot shaft 6, figs.5-7) arranged correspondingly to the shaft coupling portion, and the driving lever is shaft-coupled with the rotary holder through the shaft coupling portion being inserted through by the pivoting shaft (pivot shaft 6, figs.5-7).
Regarding claim 8, Wu discloses the switching assembly comprises an operable operating member (operating member 3, figs.5-7) arranged on the bearing support (fig.5), and the traction member is a cable (linkage between operating member 3 and driving member 5, paragraph [0043]) having one end connected to the force applying end and the other end connected to the operating member (linkage between operating member 3 and driving member 5, paragraph [0043]), to pull the operating member to drive the force applying end through the traction member, and to interlink with the actuation portion through the force resisting end to make the locking member move (operating member 3 pulls the driving member 5 through linkage and driving member 5 moves the locking member 4).
Regarding claim 11, Wu discloses wherein each of the fixing holders has a first side surface (outer cover 1 has curved side surface 14 as seen in fig.4-5A, paragraph [0046]), and each of the rotary holders has a second side surface (inner cover 2 has curved side surface of cover board 23 as seen in fig.4-5A, paragraph [0046]), the first side surface being opposite to the side surface when each of the rotary holders is pivotably disposed on its corresponding fixing holder (curved side surfaces are opposite one another and outer cover 1 and inner cover 2 are pivotable, fig.4-4A), wherein in the first side surface and the second side surface, one has a convex limiting portion (blocking sheet 14 for limiting the rotation range of the inner cover 2, paragraph [0046]) and the other has a concave groove portion (inner cover 2 has curved side surface of cover board 23 as seen in fig.4-5A, paragraph [0046]) corresponding to the limiting portion, the groove portion being arc-shaped and have a predetermined arc length (blocking sheet 14 is arc-shaped and matches an outer edge of the cover board 23 which has a predetermined length, figs.4-5A), wherein the limiting portion takes the predetermined arc length as a movable stroke in the groove portion and thereby limits a rotatable angle of the rotary holder (blocking sheet 14 for limiting the rotation range of the inner cover 2, paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 13, Wu discloses wherein the bearing support is provided with a canopy frame (canopy frame can be seen in figures 1-3).
Regarding claim 14, Wu discloses wherein the rotary holders on the opposite sided of the bearing support are connected to an accessory at the seat position (accessory connected to 2 at 24, figs.1-4A).
Regarding claim 15, Wu discloses wherein the accessory is a dinner plate or a handrail (accessory connected to 2 at 24 is a handrail as seen in figures 1-4A).
Regarding claim 16, Wu discloses a seat (carrier 100 with seat) comprising a bearing support (tubes 20 with inner cover 2, figs.1-4A), two fixing holders (outer cover 1), and a switching assembly (operating member 3, locking member 4, driving member 5, figs.5-7), wherein: two fixing holders (outer cover 1), seat mode positioning portion (seat mode position figs.1 and 5-7A) and carrycot mode positioning portion (carrycot position fig.4 and 5-7A) being separated by an angle (figs.1-4); the bearing support with rotary holders (tubes 20 with inner cover 2, figs.1-4A), and the bearing support being configured to pivotably swing between a seat position (fig.1) and a carry cot position (figs.4); the switching assembly (operating member 3, locking member 4, driving member 5, figs.5-7) disposed on at least one of the rotary holders and having a driving lever (driving member 5 and operating member 3, figs.5-7) and a locking member (locking member 4, figs.5-7), wherein the driving lever is pulled by an external force, the locking member is driven to move away from its corresponding fixing holder (driving member 5 is pulled by the operating member 3 to drive the locking member 4 to unlock, figs.5-7), so that the bearing support is unlocked and allowed to pivotably swing between the seat position and the carrycot position (figs.5-7), and after the external force disappears, the locking member is driven to move towards its corresponding fixing holder to engage with one of the seat mode positioning portion and the carrycot mode positioning portion (elastic member 8 drives the driving member 5 which drives the locking member 4, figs.5-7), so that bearing support is locked.
Regarding claim 17, A bearing device (infant carrier 100, figs.1-7), characterized in that the bearing device is provided with the seat according of claim 16.
Regarding claim 18, A bearing device (infant carrier 100, figs.1-7), characterized in that the bearing device is provided with the support switching mechanism of claim 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(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20200406950 A1) in view of Plested (US 20180043917 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Wu discloses the support switching mechanism of claim 8, but fails to discloses the operating member comprises a pull portion and two sliders.
However, Plested discloses wherein the operating member (twist handle 42, figs.2-4) comprises a pull portion (handle 49 with guide plate 94, paragraph [0032], figs.2-4) and two sliders (handle carriers 86, 88, figs.2-4), the pull portion being pivotably arranged on the bearing support and having two guide rail portions (grooves 96 and 98, figs.2-4) disposed to be tilted the two sliders being disposed in the bearing support, each of the sliders having a guide channel (guide 90 and 92, figs.2-4) to engage with a corresponding guide rail portion and having a joint (slots 308 and 310, figs.2-4) to connect with one end of the traction member (cables 76 and 78, figs.2-4, paragraph [0033]), wherein the two sliders get close to each other through being guided by the two guide rail portions as the pull portion is pulled (figs.2-4), so as to interlink with the traction member to drive the force applying end (figs.2-4).
Wu and Plested are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of strollers. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu with the operating member of Plested with a reasonable expectation of success because it would have been a simple substitution of parts from one operating member for another, and the operating member of Plested has the additional safety feature of a trigger 44 to allow the operating member to be rotated making it safer.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20200406950 A1) in view of In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777.
Regarding claim 12, Wu discloses the support switching mechanism of claim 11, but fails to disclose the angle is in the range of 30 to 45 degrees. Wu discloses the blocking sheet (14, paragraph [0046]) limiting the rotation range of the inner cover (2, paragraph [0046]). In Gardner v. TEC Syst. discloses where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the range between 30 to 45 degrees would not have performed differently than the prior art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 and 10 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.
Claim 4 depends upon claim 3 which is rejected, but claim 4 has the limitation of “wherein: the switching assembly comprises a reset member extending along a moving direction of the locking member to have one end abutting against one end of the actuation portion away from the engagement portion applies a pressure to the reset member to generate a reset elastic force when the driving lever drives the locking member to move until the bearing support is unlocked, and the locking member is reset by the reset elastic force to an extent that the bearing support is locked when the driving lever stops driving.” The primary reference of Wu discloses the locking member (4) having an actuation portion (sliding pillar 41, figs.5-7) and an engagement portion (locking head 42, figs.5-7); and a reset member (elastic member 8) to reset the driving lever to lock the bearing support. Wu fails to disclose the reset member abutting against the actuation portion (41) in a moving direction of the locking member (4). The spring (8) is designed to bias the driving member (5) and modifying the spring 8 to engage an end of the actuation portion (41) instead of the driving member (5) would be destructive to the purpose of the spring in the first place. It would take serious modification and would be hindsight reconstruction. For the reasons above claim 4 has allowable subject matter.
Claims 5-6 depend upon claim 4 giving them the same allowable subject matter as discussed above.
Claim 10 depends upon claim 2 which is rejected, but claim 10 has the limitation of “wherein the locking member further comprises extension portion and blocking portion away from the actuation portion, the extension portion being extended at one end of the engagement portion away from the actuation portion, the extension portion and the actuation portion being extended in opposite directions, and the blocking portion being formed at one end of the extension portion away from the engagement portion and in a shape of a hook; the rotary holder is provided with an opening on a side wall, and the rotary holder has an elastic arm extending from the side wall in the opening and having, at a tail end thereof, a convex portion laterally protruding from the side wall; and when the locking member is engaged and locked by one of the seat mode positioning portion and the carrycot positioning portion, the opening is aligned with the position of the extension portion, and the convex portion is pressed so that the elastic arm leans from the opening towards the extension portion and blocks the blocking portion to restrict the locking member from detaching from the bearing support.” The primary reference of Wu discloses the locking member (locking member 4) with actuation portion (sliding pillar 41, figs.5-7) and engagement portion (locking head 42, figs.5-7). Wu fails to disclose the locking member further comprising an extension portion and a blocking portion. Modifying the locking member of Wu to have the limitations of claim 10 would require serious modification and hindsight. The prior art either alone or in combination fail to teach or fairly suggest at this time all of the limitations of claim 10. Due to the reasons above claim 10 has allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The prior art not relied upon but considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure is included in the 892 form. The art included has features related to claim limitations, the general structural of the invention, teachings, and other analogous art to the invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IAN BRYCE SHELTON whose telephone number is (571)272-6501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00.
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/IAN BRYCE SHELTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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