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 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: The limitation of claim 1 reading “drivenable” should read: “drivable”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 of this title, 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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 20170137273, Lee, in view of USPGPUB 20070044326, Sanders.
Regarding Claim 1, Lee, discloses:
An motor operated can opener (abstract), comprising:
a bottom shell 20 having a bottom plate 23 and an elongated slot 24 penetrating through the bottom plate (see fig 2);
a rotatable shaft 37 having a top end portion and a bottom end portion (top and bottom portions in fig. 7), the rotatable shaft being inserted through the elongated slot (fig. 7) in a way that the rotatable shaft is reciprocally moveable along the elongated slot between a ready position (fig 9) and an operating position (fig. 10), the top end portion is located inside the bottom shell, (fig 7) and the bottom end portion protrudes outside the bottom shell (fig. 7);
a main gear (33 and 40) coaxially mounted to the top end portion of the rotatable shaft (fig. 7) and drivenable to rotate (par 0024), the main gear having a bottom surface (surface of part 40) monolithically formed with a cam having a contact surface (perimeter surfaces of cam 40, contacting at least part 50, as seen in figs 6 and 8) in a way that a distance between the contact surface and an axis of the rotatable shaft varies in accordance with locations of the contact surface (par 0025-0027);
a roller 50 rotatably disposed inside the bottom shell in contact with the contact surface of the cam (par. 0025);
an engaging gear (92) fixed to the bottom end portion of the rotatable shaft (fig 7);
a blade assembly (80-82 and 74 and 73) directly disposed to the bottom shell and provided with a blade edge (edge part of 80) outside the bottom shell (fig 7); and
an elastic member (S) connected with the rotatable shaft to impart a rebounding force on the rotatable shaft for moving the rotatable shaft toward the ready position (par 0032-0035);
wherein when the rotatable shaft stays at the ready position, the engaging gear is away from the blade assembly (fig 15), and when the rotatable shaft stays at the operating position (fig 12), the engaging gear is close to the blade assembly for clamping a can between the blade edge and the engaging gear (par 0032-0033).
Lee lacks the motor being an electric motor, and thus the can opener being an electric can opener.
Sanders discloses a motor operated can opener, in the same field of endeavor as the motor operated can opener tool of the present invention and discloses that in the art, such apparatuses are “typically… powered by an electric motor, which may be mains or battery powered” (par. 0040).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lee by having the motor thereof be an electric motor in order to have the motor be powered in a well known matter in the art.
Regarding Claim 2, in Lee, the main gear 33/40 comprises a circular gear member 33 the cam 40 integrally formed with the circular gear member, and an axial hole (hole 41 and hole through part 33 corresponding to hole 41) penetrating through the circular gear member and the cam (fig. 4);
the top end portion of the rotatable shaft 37 is fixedly inserted into the axial hole (fig 7);
the cam has an elliptical profile (fig 4) with a long axis and a short axis (see annotated fig 4);
the axial hole has an axis passing through a center of the circular gear member and is biased towards one side of the short axis.
Lee lacks the cam being monolithically formed with the circular gear member.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the parts 33 and 40, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. Howard v. Detroit Stove Works, 150 U.S. 164 (1893).
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Regarding Claim 3, in Lee, the cam is formed by a plurality of ribs protruding from a bottom surface of the circular gear member. (see annotated fig. 4 shown below).
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Regarding Claim 4, in Lee, the electric can opener of claim 1, further comprises a roller mounting plate (combination of parts 26/60) fixed inside the bottom shell and located between the bottom plate and the main gear (see fig 4); the roller mounting plate has a through hole 61 in communication with the elongated slot 24 of the bottom plate for the rotatable shaft to pass through (fig 4-7); the roller 50 is disposed on a top surface of the roller mounting plate (fig 6).
Regarding Claim 5, in Lee The electric can opener of claim 1, further comprises a power-off switch (portion 26 of mounting plate) located by one side of the rotatable shaft (see Figure 9) in a way that when the rotatable shaft moves from the operating position to the ready position, the rotatable shaft contacts the power-off switch for cutting off a power supplied to the electric can opener. (See: par. 0033)
Regarding Claim 6, in Lee the blade assembly (80-82 and 74 and 73) comprises a central axle 81, a ring blade 80 with the blade edge (fig. 3), a sleeve (sleeve through 80 through which shaft 73 extends), and a bottom screw (73);
the central axle has a top end portion directly fixed to the bottom plate of the bottom shell (fig 3), and a bottom end portion protruding outside the bottom plate of the bottom shell (fig. 3);
the ring blade and the sleeve are sequentially sleeved onto the central axle from the bottom end portion of the central axle towards the top end portion of the central axle (fig 3).
Regarding Claim 7, in Lee wherein the bottom plate 23 of the bottom shell 20 has a bottom surface provided with an installation recess (Space in which the part P is installed, figure 3);
the electric can opener further comprises a blade mounting plate (combination of parts 70/90) fixedly disposed to the installation recess and provided with a top surface (surface contacting part 20), a bottom surface (surface contacts part 80), an elongated slot 71 corresponding to and communicating with the elongated slot of the bottom plate (see fig. 5), and a through hole 72 penetrating through the top and bottom surfaces of the blade mounting plate (See fig. 5);
the top end portion of the central axle (fig 5) is inserted into the through hole of the blade mounting plate and fixed to the blade mounting plate by a top screw that is screwingly threaded into the top end portion of the central axle and presses against the top surface of the blade mounting plate (fig 5 and 3).
Regarding Claim 8, in Lee, wherein the bottom shell 20 has a working hole penetrating through the bottom plate 23 in a way that the working hole is in communication with the through hole of the blade mounting plate (see annotated fig 3).
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Regarding Claim 9, in Lee the sleeve (sleeve through 80 through which shaft 73 extends) is provided at a top portion thereof with a central protruding shaft (73); the ring blade is sleeved onto the central protruding shaft and sandwiched between a top surface of the sleeve and the bottom surface of the blade mounting plate (fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 10, in Lee the blade assembly further comprises a washer 70 sleeved onto the central axle and sandwiched between the bottom screw and the sleeve (fig. 3); the washer has an engagement groove (see annotated fig 5, shown below), and the bottom end portion of the central axle has an engagement block engaged in the engagement groove (see annotated fig 5, compared to fig. 3).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. USPNs/USPGPUBs 20160368750 3872585 2853776 20070044326
2592936 6739061 2573031 2879589 2462416 2573030 1 1562579 1607360 20060101652 10314437 96308255 and 20170137273 disclose state of the art can openers with cam portions. Thus, each of these references disclose elements relevant to the present invention/application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FERNANDO A AYALA whose telephone number is (571)270-5336. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Eastern standard.
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, Adam Eiseman can be reached on 571-270-3818. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FERNANDO A AYALA/Examiner, Art Unit 3724
/ADAM J EISEMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3724