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 Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The claims 1-13 of the instant application is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 1 recites, “A turntable driving device adapted to be electrically connected to an audio player that is accessible to a machine readable storage medium storing a music information therein and that is for playing the music information, said turntable driving device comprising: a base seat that is adapted to be disposed on the audio player; a cylinder that is hollowed and that is connected fixedly to said base seat; a rotating disc module that includes a driving unit sleeved rotatably on a bottom portion of said cylinder, and a rotatable plate mounted to and driven by said driving unit to rotate; an axial bearing that is disposed between said base seat and said driving unit; and a jog wheel module that is rotatably sleeved on a top portion of said cylinder, and that is operable to change between a co-movable state, where said jog wheel module is co-rotatable with said rotatable plate, and a non-co-movable state, where said jog wheel module is rotatable relative to said rotatable plate”.
While the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is obliged to give claims their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification during proceedings before the USPTO. See In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319 (Fed. Cir. 1989) (during patent examination, the pending claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow). The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a machine-readable storage medium and other such variations, typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of machine readable storage medium, particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP 2111.01.
The current Specs, [0019] presents, “The audio player 90 is accessible to a machine readable storage medium…” without defining what a machine readable storage medium” is, i.e., whether it is a non-transitory tangible media and/or transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of machine readable storage medium. Simply to say, the instant specification only recite the term “machine-readable storage medium” without providing any definition necessarily excluding signal-based mediums from the term as a whole.
Precisely, Per MPEP 2106.03(II)- “When the BRI encompasses transitory forms of signal transmission, a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 as failing to claim statutory subject matter would be appropriate. Thus, a claim to a machine readable storage medium that can be a compact disc or a carrier wave covers a non-statutory embodiment and therefore should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. See, e.g., Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA, Inc., 851 F.3d at 1294-95, 112 USPQ2d at 1134 (claims to a "machine-readable medium" were non-statutory, because their scope encompassed both statutory random-access memory and non-statutory carrier waves).”
Claims 2-10 are either reciting or inheriting the deficiency.
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) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hashimoto et al (US 2025/0053252) in view of Cremer (US 2024/0048793).
Claim 1, Hashimoto teaches, a turntable driving device (Fig. 2) adapted to be electrically connected to an audio player (music play back device, [0030]) that is accessible to a machine readable storage medium storing a music information therein and that is for playing the music information (Alternatively, the sound control device 1 has a function as a music playback device to send an audio signal of music played in accordance with an operation to the operators 12 to an audio output device (not illustrated), such as a speaker connected to the sound control device 1, [0030]), said turntable driving device (rotating body, see figs 6-8) comprising: a base seat that is adapted to be disposed on the audio player (See Figs. 4 and 6, base member 4); a cylinder that is hollowed (cylinder 52 , Figs. 6 and 7) and that is connected fixedly to said base seat (base member 4, Fig. 6); a rotating disc module that includes a driving unit sleeved rotatably on a bottom portion of said cylinder (The first rotating body 5 further includes a cylinder 52, the rotation detecting disc 53, a holding member 54, a magnet 55, and engagement pieces 56 as illustrated in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, [0048, 0053, 0054, 0064]), and a rotatable plate mounted to and driven by said driving unit to rotate (The drive device 44, which is provided in a bottom of the recess 411, rotates the first rotating body 5 under the control of the controller. That is, the rotary operator 2 includes the drive device 44 that rotates the first rotating body 5. In the exemplary embodiment, the drive device 44 includes a coil 441 and a board 442, [0043, 0055, 0106]); an axial bearing that is disposed between said base seat and said driving unit (the bearings BR1 and BR2 are provided in series within the cylinder 52 along the +Z direction at a predetermined interval. Each of the bearings BR1 and BR2 is a radial bearing, and is a ball bearing (a deep groove ball bearing) in the exemplary embodiment, [0052]); and a jog wheel module that is rotatably sleeved on a top portion of said cylinder, (See Figs. 2-3, where rotary operator 2 is shown to be top portion of the cylinder, [0032]), and that is operable to change between a co-movable state, where said jog wheel module is co-rotatable with said rotatable plate, and a non-co-movable state, where said jog wheel module is rotatable relative to said rotatable plate” (The rotary operator 2 is a jog wheel, so-called a motorized jog wheel, in which the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9 rotate around a rotation axis Rx during the use of the rotary operator 2, [0033] and Figs. 2-4; the second rotating body 9, which is in contact with the first rotating body 5 with the friction adjusting member(s) 8 in between, is rotatable relative to the first rotating body 5 around the rotation axis Rx. That is, the second rotating body 9 is rotatable independently of the first rotating body 5, [0110, 0165]).
Examiner notices that Hashimoto does not detail “machine readable storage medium” to store music. Cremer teaches a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium to store primary audio content (i.e., music), [0014].
It would have been obvious to the ordinary artisan before the effective filing date to make a minor modification to the teaching of Hashimoto to include the teaching of Cremer for the purpose of explicitly utilizing an important component that is non-transitory, non-volatile to ensure that signal can properly propagate/transmit.
Claim 2. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a display module that includes: a display connected fixedly to said top portion of said cylinder; and a transmission line set connected signally to said display, extending from a lower side of said base seat through said cylinder, and adapted to be signally connected to the audio player. ([0073] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the display 7 as viewed from the +Z direction. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the display 7 as viewed from the −Z direction. [0074] As illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the display 7 includes a display panel 71, a housing 72, and the second detector 73).
Claim 3. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said cylinder extends in an axial direction; said driving unit includes a first rotating shaft rotatably sleeved on said bottom portion of said cylinder, and a motor; and said rotatable plate is mounted coaxially to and connected fixedly to said first rotating shaft, and is connected to and driven by said motor to rotate so as to drive rotation of said first rotating shaft. (That is, the top-surface side of the rotary operator 2 corresponds to the +Z direction and the bottom-surface side thereof corresponds to the −Z direction. In the rotary operator 2, the base member 4, the first rotating body 5, the plate 6, the display 7, the friction adjusting member 8, and the second rotating body 9 are arranged toward the +Z direction).
Claim 4. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 3, wherein: said first rotating shaft includes a head portion rotatably sleeved on said cylinder, and an extension portion downwardly extending from said head portion in the axial direction, sleeved on said cylinder, and having an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of said head portion; and said axial bearing is sleeved on said extension portion and is clamped between said head portion and said base seat in the axial direction. (the portion near the first rotating body 5 that has a smaller outer diameter than the outer diameter of the portion opposite the first rotating body 5, [0142]).
Claim 5. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said motor includes: a stator connected fixedly to said base seat and surrounding said cylinder; and a rotor sleeve connected fixedly to said rotatable plate, surrounding and spaced apart from said stator, and rotating about said stator when said stator is energized. (The rotary operator 2 is a jog wheel, so-called a motorized jog wheel, in which the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9 rotate around a rotation axis Rx during the use of the rotary operator 2, [0033] and Figs. 2-4).
Claim 6. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a rotatable plate sensing module that includes: a first light shielding sheet connected co-rotatably to said first rotating shaft; and a first light sensing element disposed on said base seat and configured to detect a position of said first light shielding sheet and output a first rotary information indicating a rotated information of said rotatable plate based on the position of said first light shielding sheet. (the second detector 73 includes a photo interrupter that detects light passing through a slit of the plate 6 to detect the rotation state of the plate 6, [0079]).
Claim 7. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 3, wherein: said jog wheel module includes a second rotating shaft (second rotating body 9) rotatably sleeved on said top portion of said cylinder, a lower seat fixed to said second rotating shaft, and a scratchable disc unit detachably and magnetically connected to said lower seat; and said rotating disc module further includes a wear-resistant set clamped between said rotatable plate and said scratchable disc unit and allowing rotation of said scratchable disc unit relative to said rotatable plate when said jog wheel module is in the co-movable state. (The friction adjusting member 8 is disposed between the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9 to adjust friction force between the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9. That is, the friction adjusting member 8 adjusts the friction force during a user's operation to the second rotating body 9, [0080-0082]. the installation portion 512 is connected to the support 94 with the friction adjusting member 8 in between and the installation portion 512 serves as a sliding surface for the friction adjusting member 8 and the second rotating body 9. This makes it possible to de-centrally transmit a load generated when a user scratches the operation panel 91 to the first rotating body 5 through the friction adjusting member 8. [0092]).
Claim 8. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 7, wherein: said lower seat includes a lower seat body connected to said second rotating shaft, and a plurality of first magnetic members disposed on said lower seat body; and said scratchable disc unit includes a turntable body disposed above said lower seat, and a plurality of second magnetic members disposed on said turntable body, and detachably and magnetically connected to said first magnetic members, respectively. (The recess 511 is recessed in the −Z direction from a surface 51A in the +Z direction and is formed in a circular shape as viewed from the +Z direction. The cylinder 52 projecting in the −Z direction is provided at a center portion of a bottom of the recess 511, and an interior surface of the recess 511 is provided with a plurality of openings 5111. A later-described claw 562 of the engagement piece 56 is exposed from one of the openings 5111. The recess 511 has a bottom surface 511A on which a sheet member SM is disposed, [0050]).
Claim 9. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 7, further comprising: a display module; and a jog wheel sensing module that includes: a second light shielding sheet connected to said lower seat; and a second light sensing element connected to said display module and configured to detect a position of said second light shielding sheet and output a second rotary information indicating a rotated information of said scratchable disc unit based on the position of said second light shielding sheet. ((The friction adjusting member 8 is disposed between the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9 to adjust friction force between the first rotating body 5 and the second rotating body 9. That is, the friction adjusting member 8 adjusts the friction force during a user's operation to the second rotating body 9, [0080-0082]. The second detector 73 includes a photo interrupter that detects light passing through a slit of the plate 6 to detect the rotation state of the plate 6, [0079]).
Claim 10. The turntable driving device as claimed in claim 7, wherein: said scratchable disc unit includes a transparent central region that is light transmissive, and a surrounding disc region that extends radially and outwardly from said transparent central region; and said turntable driving device further comprises a display module that includes a display connected fixedly to said top portion of said cylinder and disposed under said transparent central region. (the second rotating body 9 includes the light-transmitting portion 911 at the position covering the display 7 as viewed from the +Z direction. The invention, however, is not limited thereto, and the second rotating body 9 may be formed from a light-transmitting material. Further, the second rotating body 9 may be formed in an annular shape around the rotation axis Rx with an opening at a position corresponding to the display 7 as viewed from the +Z direction. In this case, the opening serves as the light-transmitting portion, [0154]).
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUNG-HOANG J. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1949. The examiner can normally be reached Reg. Sched. 6:00-3:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached at 571-272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHUNG-HOANG J NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691