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 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the worm gear, worm, and engagement as claimed in claim 6, and the “vertical slide fit” of the shell in the frame as claimed in claim 9, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are further 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: 1.
The drawings are further objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 12, 23, 62.
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. 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.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
In the instant case, the abstract contains the implied phrase “The disclosure provides”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
The claims are objected to because they include reference characters which are not enclosed within parentheses.
Reference characters corresponding to elements recited in the detailed description of the drawings and used in conjunction with the recitation of the same element or group of elements in the claims should be enclosed within parentheses so as to avoid confusion with other numbers or characters which may appear in the claims. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
See claim 6.
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 6-8 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.
Claim 6 recites “the slide seat” in the first line of the claim. It is unclear as to which of the plurality of slide seats this refers. Please clarify.
Claims 7-8 are at least rejected for depending from rejected claim 6. Dependent claims contain all limitations of the claims from which they depend, and therefore inherit their clarity issues.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by European Patent Office Document EP 3 024 997 B1 – Brutsaert.
Regarding claim 1.
Brutsaert discloses a turning and folding outdoor awning (1, fig 1), comprising:
a support (including 2 and 3, fig 1), as a supporting and installing carrier, comprising a rectangular frame (3, fig 1) and support legs (2, fig 1) installed at a lower end of the rectangular frame (See fig 1);
a guide assembly, comprising guide rods (4 and 5, fig 1) symmetrically arranged at two sides of the rectangular frame (See fig 1) and a plurality of slide seats (15a-c, fig 4) in horizontal slide fit (at 16, fig 3) on the guide rods (See 4, fig 3), wherein the slide seats on the two guide rods are of the same number and are symmetrically arranged, and a connecting rod assembly (including 19a-c and 20a-c, fig 4) is arranged between two adjacent slide seats (See fig 4);
louvers (8, fig 1), wherein a plurality of louvers are provided and respectively arranged between the slide seats (See figs 1 and 4) on the two guide rods and are rotatable (Compare figs 4 and 5); and
a driving device (including at least 28 and 40, fig 2), connected with the slide seats (15, fig 2) and configured to drive the slide seats to slide and the louvers to rotate to be folded or unfolded (Compare figs 5 and 6).
Regarding claim 2.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 1.
Brutsaert further discloses the connecting rod assembly (including 19a-c and 20a-c, fig 4) comprises a first connecting rod (19a, fig 4) and a second connecting rod (20a, fig 4) hinged to each other (at 25, fig 4), and a limiting portion (24, fig 4) for limiting a rotation angle is arranged between the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod (See fig 4).
Regarding claim 3.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 2.
Brutsaert further discloses when unfolded to a maximum angle (compare figs 5 and 6), an included angle between the first connecting rod (19a, fig 5) and the second connecting rod (20a, fig 5) is less than 150° (See fig 5).
Regarding claim 4.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 1.
Brutsaert further discloses driving wheels (30, fig 2 and 31, fig 4) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the rectangular frame (See paragraphs [0017]; The guiding beams 4 and 5 are embodied as a profile having an internal chamber; and [0028]-[0029]; The chamber 9 also contains a belt drive 28 …drive wheel 30, … a reversing wheel 31 at the other end of the guiding beam 4.), a synchronous belt (29, fig 2) is arranged between the two driving wheels located on a same side (See paragraphs [0028]-[0029]; The chamber 9 also contains a belt drive 28 …drive wheel 30, … a reversing wheel 31 at the other end of the guiding beam 4.), and the slide seat (15a, fig 4) located at an end portion of a free end (See fig 4) is fixedly connected with the synchronous belt and is driven by the synchronous belt (Paragraph [0028]; The chamber 9 also contains a belt drive 28 which is composed of a belt 29, preferably a toothed belt, which is connected to one single sliding element 15, for example the first sliding element 15a in Figure 4 which is the furthest away from the transverse beam 7, with the connection being diagrammatically illustrated by crosses.); and
a first driving shaft (33, fig 2) is arranged between the two driving wheels (30, fig 2) located at a same end, and the first driving shaft is connected with the driving device (See fig 2).
Regarding claim 6.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 1.
Brutsaert further discloses the slide seat (15a, fig 4) is internally provided with a worm gear (37, fig 4) and a worm (36, fig 4) engaged with the worm gear (See fig 4), an end portion of the worm gear is provided with an output shaft (14, fig 4; see also fig 3), the output shaft is fixedly connected with the louvers (8, fig 4) and configured to drive the louvers to rotate (Compare figs 4 and 5), the worm (36, fig 4) is horizontally arranged (See fig 4) and two ends thereof are perforated by a shaft hole (See at 35 in fig 3) with a polygonal cross section (at 39, fig 3), the shaft hole is internally provided with a second driven shaft (35, fig 3) in a slide fit manner, and the second driven shaft is connected with the driving device (at 40 in fig 2) and configured to drive the worm to rotate (Q, fig 2).
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) 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brutsaert in view of US Pat. 6,786,270 – Wen et al., hereinafter Wen.
Regarding claim 5.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 4.
Brutsaert further discloses the first driving shaft (33, fig 2) is arranged at an end portion of the rectangular frame (See fig 2) and is perpendicular to a driving direction of the synchronous belt (29, fig 2), and an end portion of the first driving shaft is connected with the driving wheel (30, fig 2).
Brutsaert does not disclose a universal joint.
However, Wen teaches a universal joint (68, fig 2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, with a reasonable expectation of success, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the awning of Brutsaert with the universal joint of Wen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to yield the predictable result of allowing smoother operation of the driving wheel by reducing the impact of misalignment.
Regarding claim 7.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 6.
Brutsaert further discloses an end portion (See fig 2) of the rectangular frame (3, fig 1) is provided with a second driving shaft (end portion of 35, fig 2) connected with the driving device (at 40, fig 2).
Brutsaert does not disclose the second driving shaft is perpendicular to the second driven shaft and is connected with the second driven shaft through a universal joint.
However, Wen teaches the second driving shaft (67, fig 2) is perpendicular to the second driven shaft (17, fig 2) and is connected with the second driven shaft through a universal joint (68, fig 2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, with a reasonable expectation of success, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the awning of Brutsaert with the perpendicular driving shaft and universal joint of Wen. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to yield the predictable result of allowing for compact packaging of the awning.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brutsaert.
Regarding claim 8.
Brutsaert discloses all limitations of claim 6.
Brutsaert does not disclose a cross section of each of the shaft hole and the second driven shaft is a regular hexagon.
However, Brutsaert teaches a cross section of a shaft hole and a shaft is a regular hexagon (See at 14, fig 4).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, with a reasonable expectation of success, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the awning of Brutsaert with the hexagonal shaft hole and shaft of Brutsaert. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to yield the predictable result of simplifying production by reducing the types of shafts to be procured.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 10 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN W HANES JR whose telephone number is (571)272-8840. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. 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.
/J.W.H./ Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/ABE MASSAD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634