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 § 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)(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.
Claims 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki (US 7550658).
Regarding claim 1, Suzuki discloses the use of a keyboard instrument comprising: an instrument case (100) having a front plate (31), a shelf plate (13), and a connector unit(50), wherein the connector unit (50) is configured to fix the front plate (31) and the shelf plate (13) and includes a hook protruding towards a back side (see figure 3) in a longitudinal direction of a key; and a keyboard having a locking unit (35C) and fixed to the instrument case in such a state that the locking unit is disposed between the hook and the shelf plate (see the locking unit in figure 6).
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.
Suzuki US 7550658 discloses the use of a keyboard instrument comprising: an instrument case (100) having a front plate (31), a shelf plate (13), and a connector unit(50), wherein the connector unit (50) is configured to fix the front plate (31) and the shelf plate (13) and includes a hook protruding towards a back side (see figure 3) in a longitudinal direction of a key; and a keyboard having a locking unit (35C) and fixed to the instrument case in such a state that the locking unit is disposed between the hook and the shelf plate (see the locking unit in figure 6).
Suzuki does not disclose that a elastic element is in contact with the locking unit.
Regarding claim 6, Suzuki further discloses wherein the hook comprises an elastic element, and wherein the elastic element is in contact with the locking unit.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the device as disclosed in Suzuki to have an elastic element (as recited in column 17, lines 14-20) in contact with the locking unit since Suzuki discloses that the connector unit (50) can be replaced with an elastic member and the connector unit is in contact with the locking unit
Claims 2-5 and 7-15 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY R LOCKETT whose telephone number is (571)272-2067. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00 pm M-F.
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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at 571-270-7938. 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.
/KIMBERLY R LOCKETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights