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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 05/20/2024 is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2, and 5-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “sharpening component disc bodies (17)”, but previously recites “a sharpening component disc body”. This is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read “the sharpening component disc body (17)”.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “with sharpening component disc bodies (17) with different angles”. This is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “different sharpening angles”, which has been appropriately introduced in the preamble of the claim. This is supported by the Specification, Page 11, Paragraph [0047], wherein it is recited, inter alia, “the sharpening components with different sharpening angles are concentrated in the sharpening component disc body 17”. The Examiner advises the Applicant to remain consistent with claim language. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the sharpening components (7) with different angles”. This is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “different sharpening angles”, which has been appropriately introduced in the preamble of the claim. This is supported by the Specification, Page 11, Paragraph [0047], wherein it is recited, inter alia, “the sharpening components with different sharpening angles are concentrated in the sharpening component disc body 17”. The Examiner advises the Applicant to remain consistent with claim language. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the sharpening disc left cover (5)”. This is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “the sharpening component disc body left cover (5)”, which was appropriately introduced within the body of the claim. The Examiner advises the Applicant to remain consistent with claim language. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 2, “wherein a gear is fixedly designed on the knob assembly (16)” is already introduced in Claim 1, wherein “a knob right pressing component (9) is designed with a gear (21)”. The Specification recites, inter alia, “…and the knob fitting right cover 9 are assembled to form a knob assembly 16”, on Page 10, Paragraph [0046]. Therefore, this is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read, for example, “wherein the gear (21) is fixedly designed on the knob assembly (16)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 2, “and a gear is fixedly designed on the sharpening component disc body (17)” is already introduced in Claim 1, wherein “the sharpening disc right cover (6) is designed with a gear (22)”. The Specification recites, inter alia, “…the sharpening component disc body left cover 5 and the sharpening component disc body right cover 6 respectively to assemble a sharpening component disc body 17”, on Page 10, Paragraph [0046]. Therefore, this is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read, for example, “and the gear (22) is fixedly designed on the sharpening component disc body (17)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 5, “a range of the slots available is 3-10” is likely a typographical error of the recitation of Claim 1, wherein “the slots may be arranged at an interval of 3-10”. This is likely intended to read, for example, “the interval of the slots available is 3-10”. The Applicant is advised to remain consistent in claim language. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 5, “the sharpening component (7) with different angles” is likely a typographical error. Firstly, “the sharpening component (7)” is likely intended to read as “the sharpening components (7)” (i.e. a plurality of components instead of the recited singular “component”). Secondly, “different angles” is likely intended to read as “different sharpening angles”. Both of these rationales are supported by the Specification, Page 9, Paragraph [0043] in view of FIG. 10, wherein it is disclosed, inter alia, that “Fig. 10 is a distribution diagram of sharpening components with different sharpening angles”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention. This objection also applies to the later recitation of “the sharpening component (7) may be tungsten steel”.
Regarding Claim 5, “an angle of the sharpening component (7)” is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “one of the different sharpening angles”. This recites the appropriately-introduced claim language of the “different sharpening angles” as seem in Claim 1, from which Claim 5 is dependent upon. Additionally, this suggested edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, clearly delineates that this further-limiting claim language is applicable to one of the different sharpening angles, as reflected in the scope of the claim (i.e. the recitation of a singular “angle”, instead of “angles”). However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 5, “a range of the angle” is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “a range of one of the different sharpening angles”. The Examiner advises the Applicant remain consistent with claim language. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 6, “the slots with different angles on the sharpening component disc body (17)” is likely a typographical error, and is intended to read as “the slots with different sharpening angles on the sharpening component disc body (17)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
Figure 4, element 25, “the slot (25)” is introduced only in Claim 5 of the instant application, but is never discussed in the Specification.
Figure 5, element 24, “sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (24)” is introduced only in Claim 4 of the instant application, but is never discussed in the Specification.
Figure 7, element 15, is never introduced in the Claims or Specification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, and 4-8, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, a broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, Claim 1 recites the broad recitation "(the slots may be arranged at an interval of 3-10)", and the claim also recites “5 slots” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. The Examiner suggests, as an example, that Claim 1 instead read “a plurality of slots on the sharpening disc left cover (5)”, then narrow the recitation later within the claims (i.e. as seen in Claim 5) with a recitation that further-limits a quantity of the plurality of slots (i.e. “the plurality of slots is arranged at an interval of 3-10”).
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the slots may be arranged” in the body of the claim. Specifically, the phrase “may be” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear if the limitation of “the slots may be arranged at an interval of 3-10” is a necessary structural component of the device. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner is interpreting “the slots may be arranged at an interval of 3-10” as not being a limitation of the scope of the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the sharpening components (7)" in the body of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Please amend the claim to reflect appropriate antecedent basis. An example edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, includes “a plurality of sharpening components (7)”. This rejection also applies to Claim 5, which depends upon Claim 1, wherein “the sharpening component (7)”, is again disclosed, but has never been appropriately introduced.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the sharpening disc right cover (6)" in the body of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The “sharpening disc right cover (6) has not been appropriately introduced anywhere within Claim 1. Additionally, the later recitation of “the sharpening disc right cover (6) is designed with a gear (22)” is also rejected on the same basis. The Examiner suggests, as an example edit, that the initial recitation of the sharpening disc right cover (6) within Claim 1 be rewritten such that it instead recites, “…left cover (5) and a sharpening disc right cover (6)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (24)" in the body of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Please amend the claim to reflect appropriate antecedent basis. An example edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, includes “a sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (24)”.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “the slot (25)”. It is unclear if this recitation is referring to a singular slot from the plurality of slots introduced earlier in Claim 5, or if “the slot” was intended to refer to “the plurality of slots” (i.e. each of the plurality of slots on the sharpening component disc body 17 is assigned element 25). When seeking to ascertain the intended structure of the claimed invention, the Examiner reflected upon the intended claim scope in light of the specification. However, the only recitation of element 25 is Claim 5. Instead, the Examiner reflected upon the Specification, Page 11, Paragraph [0051], wherein it is disclosed, inter alia, that “the sharpening components of the sharpening slot on the sharpening component disc body 17 correspond to the numerical designations on the silicone wheel 4 on the knob assembly 16”. Based on this description, the Examiner, for the purposes of examination, is interpreting “the slot (25)” to refer to whichever one of the plurality of slots on the sharpening component disc body 17 is readily receivable within one of the different sharpening slots of the main body upper cover (1). An example edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, is as follows: “one of the plurality of slots (25)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “may be a range of the angle on one side is 12°-30°, and a range of an included angle is 24°-60°”. It is unclear what “the angle on one side” of one of the sharpening components (7) is referring to, and how this differs from “an included angle”. The specification is silent as to what “the angle on one side”, or the “included angle”, are referring to. Furthermore, “may be” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear if “a range of the angle on one side is 12°-30°” is a necessary structural component of the device, and thus is treated as not being required by the scope of the claim. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner is interpreting this limitation to recite “a range of any one of the plurality of sharpening angles of the sharpening component (7) must be between 24°-60°”. Additionally, while not considered due to the use of a relative term (i.e. “may be”), for the purposes of Examination, the range of the angle on one side is being interpreted as “as the range of at least one sharpening angle of the sharpening components (7) is between a range of 12°-30°”. An example of an edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, is as follows: “a range of the sharpening angles of the sharpening components (7) is 24°-60°, and a range of one sharpening angle of one of the sharpening components (7) is 12°-30°”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 5 recites “the sharpening component (7) may be tungsten steel, ceramics, or other various other sharpening materials”. The phrase "may be" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Additionally, the list of sharpening materials should be a closed grouping (i.e. “a sharpening material the sharpening component (7) is tungsten steel or ceramic”, for example). Please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “the slot on the sharpening disc positioning post (14)” in the body of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The limitation of “the slot” on the sharpening disc positioning post (14) is never appropriately introduced. The Examiner suggests this read, for example, as “a slot on the sharpening disc positioning post (14)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the notches on the main body upper cover (1)”. This raises a two-fold indefiniteness issue. Firstly, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Secondly, there is no mention of “notches” prior to this recitation anywhere in the claims, or anywhere in the Specification, and thus it is unclear what structure “notches” is referring to. If this is a new structure, please amend the claim to reflect appropriate antecedent basis. If this is an already-existing structure, please clarify the Applicant’s intention. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner is interpreting this to refer to the recitation of “different sharpening slots” disclosed in Claim 1, wherein the slots 25 of the sharpening component disc body 17 align with the different sharpening slots of the main body upper cover 1. An example edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, includes, “and the different sharpening slots on the main body upper cover (1)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation, "The sharpening component disc body (17)", in the body of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 7 is an independent claim, and requires the limitation to be appropriately introduced. The Examiner suggests this read as, for example, “A sharpening component disc body (17)”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention. This also applies to the recitation of “the same sharpening component disc body” recited later in the claim.
Regarding Claim 7, “The sharpening component disc body (17) may be assembled with sharpening sheets with different angles, and may also be designed to be assembled with sharpening sheets of other sharpening forms (such as single-edged knife sharpening and scissor sharpening, etc.)”, is disclosed. The phrases “may be”, “may”, "such as", and “etc.” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Additionally, the list of other sharpening forms should be a closed grouping (i.e. “other sharpening forms, consisting of single-edged knife sharpening and scissor sharpening, to be combined…” for example). An example of an edit, per the Examiner’s suggestion, is as follows: “The sharpening component disc body (17) is assembled with sharpening sheets with different sharpening angles and other sharpening forms, wherein the other sharpening forms consist of single-edged knife sharpening forms and scissor sharpening forms”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 8, the recitation of “an anti-slip pad, which may be in the form of glue or rubber coating” is indefinite. Specifically, phrase “may be” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). The Examiner suggests, as an example edit, this read as “an anti-slip pad, which is in the form of glue or a rubber coating”. However, please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Any claim listed as rejected above but not specifically addressed above has inherited the rejection of a claim specifically addressed above due to dependency therefrom.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding Claim 5, "a plurality of slots" is recited, which is a broader recitation of Claim 1, wherein a narrower recitation of "5 slots" is disclosed. The Examiner suggests, as an example, that Claim 1 instead read “a plurality of slots on the sharpening disc left cover (5) and the sharpening disc right cover (6)”, and that Claim 5 instead reads as, “wherein the sharpening component disc body (17) is provided with the plurality of slots, and the plurality of slots is in a range of 3-10 slots”. However, please amend the claims to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Regarding Claim 7, a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. However, Claim 7 instead recites, “The sharpening component disc body (17)” without having referred to Claim 1, wherein “a sharpening component disc body” is appropriately introduced, or any other claim. For this reason, Claim 7 does not further limit a preceding claim, and it is not presented as an independent claim either. Please amend the claim to reflect the Applicant’s intention.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Any claim listed as rejected above but not specifically addressed above has inherited the rejection of a claim specifically addressed above due to dependency therefrom.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (CN 216067072 U), herein after referred to as "Zhu", in view of Xie et al (CN 212420980 U), herein after referred to as "Xie", and in further view of Li and Jiang (CN 115194565 A), herein after referred to as "Li".
Regarding Claim 1, Zhu discloses a knife sharpener (Zhu: see English Translation, Page 8, line 3, "multi-functional sharpener 100") that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, line 15, and 23-24, "disc body 21 is provided with a plurality of grinding grooves 213" and "grinding grooves 213 can be rotated around the axis of the disc body 21") with a knob (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, line 32, "knob 24”), comprising an outer component support bracket right cover (11) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, line 1, "first housing 11"), and an outer component support bracket left cover (12) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, line 1, "second housing 12");
the outer component support bracket right cover (11) is fixedly connected with a sharpening disc body positioning post (14) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 4-7, "connecting post 115"; see also Page 8, line 24, "first housing 11" is "provided with a connecting post 115"), and an outer surface of the sharpening disc body positioning post (14) is mounted with sharpening component disc bodies (17) with different angles (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 4-7 in view of FIGS. 2-4, disc 21 rotates about bolt 3 and connecting post 115);
a sharpening component disc body right cover (5) is provided with a sharpening disc positioning bead (19) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 13-18, "third shell 211 of the disc body 21" has a "spring plunger 23" received by any of the recesses 114 on first shell 11), and the sharpening components (7) with different angles are placed in a cavity of the sharpening component disc body left cover (5) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 23-28 in view of FIG. 3, a portion of grinding tool 22 is located in first slot 2112, and another portion of grinding tool 22 is located in second slot 2123; see also Zhu, English Translation, Page 1, lines 16-17, wherein multiple blades can be sharpened with "various grinding precisions");
the sharpening component disc body right cover (5) is fixedly connected with a sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (20) (Zhu: see Annotated Figure 4);
5 slots on the sharpening disc left cover (5) and the sharpening disc right cover (6) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, line 31, "number of sharpening components 22 is preferably 2 to 8").
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Zhu does not disclose a main body upper cover (1), a main body lower cover (2), an inner component support bracket right cover (11), and an inner component support bracket left cover (12), wherein the main body upper cover (1) is designed with different sharpening slots;
a knob positioning post (13) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12), and a knob assembly (16) is mounted on an outer surface of the knob positioning post (13);
a gear positioning post (18) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12), and a gear (10) is mounted on an outer surface of the gear positioning post (18);
a knob right pressing component (9) is designed with a gear (21); the sharpening disc right cover (6) is designed with a gear (22).
However, pursuant of MPEP 2144.04-VI-A, it 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, to incorporate a sharpening disc positioning bead (19) with a sharpening component disc body left cover (5), as the mere reversal of such elements, such that a plunger 23 is retained within a sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove on the fourth housing 212 (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, line 27 in view of Annotated Figure 4), was held to be an obvious modification, In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). The plunger 23 being received within recesses 114 is capable of functioning regardless of which orientation (i.e. left cover or right cover) the elements are structured in (i.e. whether the recesses 114 are mounted on a first housing 11 for receiving a plunger located on the third housing 211, or whether recesses 114 are mounted on a second housing 12 for receiving a plunger located on a fourth housing 212). The reversal of such parts of the apparatus disclosed by Zhu would perform the same function(s) as those already present, and have predictable results with a reasonable expectation of success, with the same advantages of the existing embodiment disclosed within the instant application.
Furthermore, a lack of criticality is present regarding the placement of the sharpening disc positioning bead (19) within the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (20). As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10 of the instant application, wherein the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (20) is fixedly connected with the sharpening component disc body left cover (5), the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove has an open-face extending radially from the sharpening disc positioning post (14), wherein the sharpening disc positioning bead (19) would be forced to come into contact with a surface of the sharpening component disc body right cover (6) to be retained within the sharpening component disc body (17). As best understood by the Examiner, if the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (20) was fixedly connected to the sharpening component disc body right cover (6) such that the sharpening disc positioning bead (19) may still contact the sharpening disc positioning post (14), the modification would perform the same function(s) as those already present, and have predictable results with a reasonable expectation of success, with the same advantages of the existing embodiment disclosed within the instant application. This is further supported by the Specification, Page 11, Paragraph [0049], wherein the sharpening disc positioning bead mounting hole 20 may be provided on the sharpening component disc body 17, as opposed to specifying the sharpening component disc body left cover (5).
Additionally, pursuant of MPEP 2144.04-VI-B, it 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, to incorporate additional slots on the blade disc 2, disclosed by Zhu, such that the slots may be arranged at an interval of 3-10, since it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960). As evidence by the lack of criticality within the specification describing that the number of slots (i.e. “preferably…” and “may be”; see Specification, Page 4, Paragraph [0013]), the claimed quantity would be considered an obvious duplication of parts to someone having ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, the additional slots, having additional sharpening components, would perform the same function(s) as those already present, and thus the modification would have predictable results with a reasonable expectation of success, with the same advantageous benefits of existing slots.
From the same or similar field of endeavor, Xie discloses a main body upper cover (1) (Xie: English Translation, Page 8, line 10, "upper cover 2"), a main body lower cover (2) (Xie: English Translation, Page 8, line 9, "mounting base 1"), an inner component support bracket right cover (11), and an inner component support bracket left cover (12) (Xie: English Translation, Page 9, line 12, "enclosure portion 11"), wherein the main body upper cover (1) is designed with different sharpening slots (Xie: English Translation, Page 9, line 24 in view of FIG. 2, two "whetstone openings 222");
Xie discloses a knife sharpener with two sharpening components (Li: English Translation, Page 1, lines 6 and 8-9). The two sharpening components utilize an angle-adjustable whetstone (Xie: English Translation, Page 1, line 6), wherein the angle between the two sharpening stones may be increased or decreased, depending upon user input to the toggle element. Here, a user will interact with a linkage component 3, which includes toggle element 31, such that the toggle element 31 will move back and forth within slide groove 223 to reflect a user’s input (Xie: English Translation, Page 10, lines 31-33, and Page 11, lines 1-4). As the toggle element 31 is moved towards the sharpening block opening (Xie: see English Translation, Page 1, lines 17-18, and Page 9, lines 23-24) “second rotation member 34” engages with two “second translation members 35” (Xie: English Translation, Page 10, lines 31-33) such that the “two sharpening blocks rotate in opposite directions about a fixed axis”, therefore adjusting the angle between the two sharpening stones (Xie: English Translation, Page 1, lines 18-21). Of note, Xie discloses an upper cover 2 and mounting base 1, and an enclosure portion 11 mounted within the housing, having a left and right wall for interfacing with the sharpening blocks (Xie: English Translation, Page 8, lines 9-10, and Page 9, line 12), and also a plurality of different sharpening slots (Xie: English Translation, Page 9, line 24 in view of FIG. 2, two “whetstone openings 222”).
Similarly, Zhu also discloses a knife sharpener 100, having a blade disc 2 (Zhu: English Translation, Page 8, lines 3-4, wherein the blade disc 2 includes a disc body 21 having multiple sharpening components 22 within grinding grooves 213 (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, lines 11-12, and 15-17, and Page 10, lines 20-22). To select a sharpening component for use, a user will rotate the blade disc 2 by rotating a knob 24 until a desired grinding groove 213 is present in slot 113 (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 16, and 32-33). Of note, a spring plunger 23 engages with recesses 114 to limit rotation of the blade disc 2.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the knife sharpener disclosed by Xie, including the blade disc 1, knob 24, the multiple sharpening components 213, the spring plunger 23, and recesses 114 for limiting rotation of the blade disc 2, with the upper cover 2, mounting base 1, enclosure portion 11, and the multiple whetstone openings 222, as disclosed by Xie, to provide a more efficient design. Of note, Zhu remarks that the knife sharpener 100 has a total of six sharpening components, and may include a range of two to eight sharpening components, but discloses that an excessive number of sharpening components 22 would make the sharpener 100 too large (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 31-32, and Page 11, lines 1-3). By offering a second opening 222, as disclosed by Xie, the burden of including more sharpening components can be mitigated, wherein the size of the blade disc 2 does not need to be increased to accommodate the greater quantity of sharpening components. By extension, to accommodate a second opening for another sharpening component, a larger knife sharpener housing (i.e. the upper cover 2, mounting base 1, and enclosure 11) is necessary to make this modification feasible. Someone having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to modify the apparatus disclosed by Zhu for such reasons listed above.
However, Zhu in view of Xie does not disclose a knob positioning post (13) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12), and a knob assembly (16) is mounted on an outer surface of the knob positioning post (13);
a gear positioning post (18) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12), and a gear (10) is mounted on an outer surface of the gear positioning post (18);
a knob right pressing component (9) is designed with a gear (21);
the sharpening disc right cover (6) is designed with a gear (22).
Li discloses a knob positioning post (13) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12) (Li: see English Translation, Page 9, lines 13 and 18 in view of FIG. 1 and Annotated Figure 6, adjusting handwheel 7 is fixedly connected on the inner surface of housing 1), and a knob assembly (16) is mounted on an outer surface of the knob positioning post (13) (Li: see Annotated Figure 6 and FIGS. 1 and 7, wherein the adjusting handwheel 7 is mounted on the knob positioning post);
a gear positioning post (18) is fixedly connected to the inner component support bracket left cover (12) (Li: see English Translation, Page 9, lines 13 and 19 in view of FIG. 1 and Annotated Figure 6, wherein gear 9 has a post on the inner surface of housing 1), and a gear (10) is mounted on an outer surface of the gear positioning post (18) (Li: see English Translation, Page 9, lines 13 and 19 in view of FIG. 1 and Annotated Figure 6, wherein gear 9 has a post on the inner surface of housing 1);
a knob right pressing component (9) is designed with a gear (21) (Li: English Translation, Page 9, lines 18-19, "gear ring 7.1" extends axially across the thickness of a adjusting handwheel 7);
the sharpening disc right cover (6) is designed with a gear (22) (Li: Page 9, lines 17-18, and Page 17, lines 13-15 in view of FIG. 3, "transmission block 6" has a "straight tooth part" for selection of one of five rotation angles for the mounting base 3.3).
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Li discloses a knife sharpener having two angle-adjustable sharpening units (Li: English Translation, Page 1, lines 6 and 10-12). Here, an adjusting handwheel 7 has five “locking positions” corresponding to five selectable angles of the sharpening stones that a user may select from (Li: English Translation, Page 17, lines 13-17). Specifically, an “adjusting handwheel 7, on which a gear ring 7.1 is coaxially arranged”, engages with gear 9, which in turn engages with straight tooth portion 6.2 to slide transmission box 6 (Li: English Translation, Page 15, lines 7-12). As the transmission block 6 moves linearly with the gears, sliding seat 2 is driven to rise or fall (Li: English Translation, Page 15, lines 13-16), which in turn abuts mating part 3.2 of a moving grinding unit 3 against a guide part 4 (Li: English Translation, Page 18, lines 13-15 in view of FIG. 2). With the rise and fall of the sliding seat 2, the moving grinding unit 3 is rotates to reduce or increase the grinding angle of the grinding gap 3.1 (Li: English Translation, Page 18, lines 16-13 in view of FIG. 2). Of note, Li discloses the adjusting handwheel 7 is fixedly connected to the inner surface of housing 1 (Li: English Translation, Page 9, lines 13 and 18 in view of FIG. 1 and Annotated Figure 6) on an outer surface of a knob positioning post, which itself is connected to housing 1 which serves as a component support bracket cover (Li: Annotated Figure 6).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the apparatus disclosed by Modified Zhu, including the blade sharpener having a top housing with a plurality of sharpening components, a rotatable blade disc controlled by a knob a spring plunger and recess for limiting rotation of the blade disc, an enclosure portion having a left and right inner wall, and a mounting base, with an adjustable handwheel, a post mounted on an inner component bracket to mount the adjustable handwheel, a gear, and a gear positioning post to mount the gear to an inner component bracket, and a gear in direct communication with the sharpening stones, as disclosed by Li. One would be motivated to do this as to provide a more efficient design with a positive user experience. Li remarks that the adjusting handwheel 7, having ball 8.1, and the hemispherical groove 1.2, near the base of the adjustment handwheel mounting post, provide a “tactile feel” to the adjustment handwheel 7, “improving the user experience”.
Regarding Claim 2, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 1, wherein a gear is fixedly designed on the knob assembly (16) (see Li, English Translation, Page 9, lines 18-19, "gear ring 7.1"; see also Zhu, English Translation, Page 11, line 32, "knob 24"), and a gear is fixedly designed on the sharpening component disc body (17) (Xie: English Translation, Page 9, lines 25-27, "fifth gear 421", connected to grinding block 42, may rotate around fixed axis shaft 41);
the sharpening component disc body (17) is provided with a positioning post hole (23) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 1-3, "second through hole 214").
Regarding Claim 3, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 1, wherein the knob assembly (16), the sharpening component disc body (17) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, line 32, "knob 24 allows the user to drive the cutter head 2 to rotate") and the gear (10) (Li: see English Translation, Page 15, lines 9-12, wherein the straight toothed portion 6.2 meshes with a gear 9, and gear 9 meshes with gear ring 7.1) are engaged with each other.
Regarding Claim 4, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 1, wherein the sharpening disc positioning bead positioning groove (24) is designed with a plurality of evenly distributed positioning slots around an axis (Zhu: English Translation, Page 9, lines 16-17 and 20-21 in view of FIG. 2, "grinding grooves 213 are preferably evenly distributed around the axis of the disc body 21", and "the multiple grinding grooves 213 correspond one-to-one with the multiple recesses 114"), which are matched one-to-one with the sharpening disc positioning bead (19) mounted on the sharpening component disc body (17) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 13-18, spring plunger 23 received by any of the recesses 114).
Regarding Claim 6, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 3, wherein the knob assembly (16), the sharpening component disc body (17) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, line 32, "knob 24 allows the user to drive the cutter head 2 to rotate") and the gear (10) are engaged with each other so that under the rotation of a toggle wheel and the transmission of the gear (10) (Li: see English Translation, Page 15, lines 9-12, wherein the straight toothed portion 6.2 meshes with a gear 9, and gear 9 meshes with gear ring 7.1), for the sharpening component disc body (17), the positioning bead (19) inside the sharpening component disc body (17) is matched with the slot on the sharpening disc positioning post (14) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 8, lines 24-28, and Page 10, lines 10-16, “connecting post 115 is located inside the annular limiting wall 116”, and “limiting post 2111” has matching protrusions to the recesses 114 for receiving spring plunger 23) on the inner component support bracket right cover (11) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 13-15, "Spring plunger 23 is mounted on the third housing 211 of disc body 21" and is matched with a slot), thereby realizing the function of one-to-one pairing of the slots with different angles on the sharpening component disc body (17) and the notches on the main body upper cover (1) (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 13-19, spring plunger engages with recess 114 as the disc body 21 rotates, and the engagement within the recess corresponds to a “designed position”, wherein the “spring plunger 23 will engage with the corresponding recess 114 to limit the rotation of cutting disc 2 around the axis of disc body 21”).
Regarding Claim 8, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 1, wherein a bottom of the main body lower cover (2) is designed with an anti-slip pad, which may be in the form of glue or rubber coating (Xie: English Translation, Page 14, line 14 and 18, rubber material "anti-slip pad 15").
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (CN 216067072 U), herein after referred to as "Zhu", in view of Xie et al (CN 212420980 U), herein after referred to as "Xie", and in further view of Li and Jiang (CN 115194565 A), herein after referred to as "Li", and in further view of Elek and Friel (WO 2011112924 A1), herein referred to as “Elek”.
Regarding Claim 5, Zhu in view of Xie, and in further view of Li, disclose the claimed invention as applied above, wherein Modified Zhu further discloses the knife sharpener that selects different sharpening angles or different sharpening forms by rotating a sharpening component disc body with a knob according to claim 1, wherein the sharpening component disc body (17) is provided with a plurality of slots (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, line 31, "number of sharpening components 22 is preferably 2 to 8"), and a range of the slots available is 3-10 (see response on Page 11 of this Examiner response pertaining to MPEP 2144.04-VI-B);
the slot (25) provided on the sharpening component disc body (17) are correspondingly assembled with the sharpening component (7) with different angles (Zhu: English Translation, Page 10, lines 19-22 and 31-32 in view of FIG. 2, where a grinding groove 213 on the disc body 21 is provided with a grinding tool 22; see also Xie, English Translation, Page 13, line 28, and Page 14, line 30, grinding stones have an adjustable angle of "15°, 20° and 25°");
a sharpening material of the sharpening component (7) may be tungsten steel, ceramics or other various other sharpening materials (Xie: English Translation, Page 9, lines 32-33, whetstone 43 is ceramic).
Modified Zhu does not disclose an angle of the sharpening component (7) may be designed such that a range of the angle on one side is 12°-30°, and a range of an included angle is 24°-60°;
However, from the same or similar field of endeavor, Elek discloses an angle of the sharpening component (7) may be designed such that a range of the angle on one side is 12°-30°, and a range of an included angle is 24°-60° (Elek: see Abstract and Page 2, wherein a knife sharpener has a range of angles for abrading between 12 to 25 degrees across different sharpening stages, and that "examination of the knives produced in Europe shows that the total edge angle varied from about 40 degrees to 60 degrees or larger");
Elek discloses a knife sharpener having three stages of whetstone angles: a first stage with 12-18 degrees, a second stage with 17-23 degrees, and a third stage with 19-25 degrees. Additionally, Elek remarks that “knives manufactured in Japan and Asia are found to have edge angles of about 10 degrees to 20 degrees”, and European knives typically vary from “40 degrees to 60 degrees or larger” (Elek: see Abstract and Page 2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the sharpener disclosed by Modified Zhu, with the range of sharpening angles disclosed by Elek, such that the sharpening components included can accommodate both narrow-edge and broad-edge knives within the range of 12°-60° across all sharpening components provided in the disc body. One would be motivated to do this as to offer greater versatility to product usage, with the sharpener being able to address a wider market of knife edges such as those seen in European markets, or Asian markets (Elek: Abstract and Page 2). Furthermore, a large variety of sharpening angles is already contemplated by both Li (see FIG. 7), and Xie (see English Translation, Page 13, lines 28-29, “angle includes three types: 15°, 20° and 25°”).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (CN 216067072 U), herein after referred to as "Zhu", in view of Xie et al (CN 212420980 U), herein after referred to as "Xie".
Regarding Claim 7, Zhu discloses the sharpening component may also be designed to be assembled with sharpening sheets of other sharpening forms (such as single-edged knife sharpening and scissor sharpening, etc.) to be combined on the same sharpening component disc body, so as to facilitate user selection (Zhu: English Translation, Page 11, lines 3-10, "single-edged knife sharpening component 225" and "scissor sharpening component 224").
Zhu does not disclose the sharpening component disc body (17) may be assembled with sharpening sheets with different angles.
However, Xie discloses the sharpening component disc body (17) may be assembled with sharpening sheets with different angles (Xie: English Translation, Page 13, line 28, and Page 14, line 30, grinding stones have an adjustable angle of "15°, 20° and 25°").
It would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have combined the knife sharpener, disclosed by Zhu, including the disc body 21 with the multiple sharpening components 22, with the sharpening sheets of different angles, as disclosed by Xie. While Zhu does disclose numerous sharpening components (i.e. “a double-edged knife coarse sharpening component 221, a double-edged knife fine sharpening component 222”; see Zhu, English Translation, Page 11, lines 3-7), Xie discloses angles of the grinding stones (Xie: English Translation, Page 13, line 28). Someone having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combined the multiple sharpening forms disclosed by Zhu with the sharpening sheets of different angles, disclosed by Xie, to produce a more efficient apparatus capable of sharpening a blade edge to a range of angles, and also to sharpen other bladed instruments such as scissors, double edged knives, bread knives, and other selections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JON M HEGEMIER whose telephone number is (571)467-6405. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Posigian can be reached at 313-446-6546. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JON M HEGEMIER/ Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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