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 .
Drawings
The drawings (figs.1-2) are objected to because they should be annotated by three separate numerals, (examples 1A, 1B, 1C). 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, the 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 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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Sumi et al, US 10210698 [Sumi].
Regarding claim 1, Sumi discloses (figs. 1-8) a button device (1) for casino (i.e. slot) machines, comprising:
a base (2) installed to overlap a display panel (40) of a display device (4:
a push button (1) that overlaps the base (2) and is disposed to move vertically with respect to the base (2), and has a central portion through which an image displayed on the display panel (40) is visible and a flange portion (51) that is stepped at an outer boundary of the central portion and extends outward: and
a bezel (6) that covers the push button (4) so that the central portion is exposed and the flange portion (51) is hidden, and is detachably coupled to the base (2),
where the base (2) includes a bottom plate (21) and a plurality of hooks (27) that protrude upward from an outer circumferential portion of the bottom plate (21) and are covered by the bezel (6), and
the bezel (6) includes a plurality of interference protrusions (63) that mutually interfere with the plurality of hooks (27) to prevent the bezel (6) from being separated from the base (2) when the push button (4) is covered.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 2, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed button device, wherein each of the plurality of hooks includes a pair of pillars that protrude upward from the bottom plate and are spaced apart from each other, a body portion that is connected to one end and the other end of each of the pair of pillars, and a triangular protrusion that is formed at an upper end portion of the body portion to protrude in a stepped manner from the body portion; and each of the plurality of interference protrusions is bent and protrudes inward from a lower end portion of the bezel.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Onoyama et al, Raupach et al, Johnson et al, Iwakiri, Ogawa et al and Chen et al are examples of push button devices configured similar to the present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM A BOLTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5887. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30AM - 5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee S 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/WILLIAM A BOLTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833