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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/23/2026 has been entered.
Application Status
Claims 1-12, 14-15 are pending and have been examined in this application. Claim 1 is amended, claims 2-12 are previously presented or original, Claims 14-15 are new.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
As of the date of this action, an information disclosure statement (IDS) has been filed on 02/20/2024, 07/01/2024; 03/07/2025, 04/09/2025, 11/21/2025, 03/10/2026 and reviewed by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-6, 9, 11-12, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (US 5632111 A) to Takizawa.
In regards to claim 1, Takizawa anticipates a reel seat grip member comprising: a fairing portion (Takizawa; portion at 22 and forward portion of 16); and a buttock portion connected to the fairing portion (Takizawa; rear part 16B which is connected to 22 as being part of 16), wherein the fairing portion is configured to be attached at one end of the fairing portion to at least one hood of a pair of hoods provided on a rod body for fixing a reel leg (Takizawa; the fairing portion 22 and forward portion of 16 is configured to be attached a hood of 28A via threads 16A, 20A, see FIG 4), the buttock portion is configured to be attached at one end of the buttock portion to the rod body via an attachment member provided on the rod body (Takizawa; 16B is configured to be attached at its end 16B to the rod 10 via an attachment 18, see FIG 4), the buttock portion is configured to be attached to an area of the rod body between the at least one hood of the pair of hoods and a rear end of the rod body (Takizawa; 16B is configured to be attached at an area that is between the hoods 28A, 28B and the rear end of the rod body to the right of FIGs 2-5; see also FIG 1 where 20 is positioned towards a tip end and 16B is positioned towards a rear end of the rod) and the reel seat grip member is configured to be spaced away from the rod body between the at least one hood of the pair of hoods and the rear end of the rod body (Takizawa; see where at 22, 26 the reel seat grip is spaced away from the rod body 10 between the hood 28A and the end of the rod body to the right of FIGs 2-5; Col 2 lines 66-67).
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In regards to claim 2, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the fairing portion is configured to be attached to the at least one hood by adhesion, fitting, or mechanical fastening (Takizawa; fairing portion at 22 and forward portion of 16 is attached to a hood 28A via mechanical fastening of threads 20A, 16A).
In regards to claim 3, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the buttock portion is configured to be attached to the attachment member by adhesion, fitting, or mechanical fastening (Takizawa; see FIG 4 and Col 2 lines 13-17 where the buttock portion at 16B is configured to be attached to 18 via fitting or adhesion)
In regards to claim 4, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the fairing portion and the buttock portion are configured to be fixed to the rod body or fixed to the rod body to be movable (Takizawa; see FIG 4 and Col 2 lines 13-17 where the buttock portion at 16B is configured to be attached to 18 via fitting or adhesion; adhesive being fixed, fitting being movable or slidable along the rod before being adhered).
In regards to claim 5, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the fairing portion and the buttock portion are configured to be fixed to the rod body (Takizawa; see FIG 4 and Col 2 lines 13-17 where the buttock portion at 16B is configured to be attached to 18 via fitting or adhesion; adhesive being fixed, fitting being movable or slidable along the rod before being adhered), and the at least one hood and the attachment member are configured to be fixed to the rod body by adhesion, fitting, or mechanical fastening (Takizawa; hood 28A is fixed via mechanical fastening of threads 16A, 20A; attachment member 18 is fixed via adhesive Col 2 lines 17-21).
In regards to claim 6, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the fairing portion and the buttock portion are configured to be fixed to the rod body to be movable (Takizawa; 22, forward end of 16 and 16B fixed to the body by sliding onto the rod such that they are movable to be positioned on the rod), and the at least one hood and the attachment member are configured to be movable with respect to the rod body in an axial direction of the rod body (Takizawa; hood 28A movable via threading, and attachment member 18 movable when inserted on the rod to be movable to position on the rod).
In regards to claim 9, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein one or a plurality of notches are formed in a part of the reel seat grip member (Takizawa; see FIGs 2-5 where there is a notch below 22 to expose the rod 10 on either side of 16, 14).
In regards to claim 11, Takizawa anticipates a reel seat grip structure comprising: the reel seat grip member according to claim 1 (Takizawa; see claim 1 above); the pair of hoods for fixing a reel leg provided on the rod body (Takizawa; 28A, 28B); and the attachment member for attaching the reel seat grip member to the rod body (Takizawa; 18 on 10).
In regards to claim 12, Takizawa anticipates a fishing rod comprising: the reel seat grip member according to claim 1 (Takizawa; see claim 1 above); the rod body (Takizawa; 10); the pair of hoods for fixing the reel leg provided on the rod body (Takizawa; 28A, 28B); and the attachment member for attaching the reel seat grip member to the rod body (Takizawa; 18 on 10).
In regards to claim 14, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the area is separated from the pair of hoods toward the rear end of the rod body (Takizawa; the area 16B is attached to 18 is separated from 28A, 28B and is toward the rear end of the rod 10; see FIG 4).
In regards to claim 15, Takizawa anticipates the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the area is rearward of a screw thread of the at least one hood of the pair of hoods (Takizawa; the area 16B is attached to 18 is rearward of screw threads 29A, 16A of the hood 28A).
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 5632111 A) to Takizawa in view of (US 6397511 B1) to Atnip.
In regards to claim 7, Takizawa teaches the reel seat grip member according to claim 6, wherein the at least one hood and the attachment member are configured to be movable with respect to the rod body in the axial direction of the rod body (Takizawa; hood 28A movable via threading, and attachment member 18 movable when inserted on the rod to be movable to position on the rod) such that inner peripheral surfaces of the at least one hood and the attachment member are attached to an outer peripheral surface of the rod body (Takizawa; hood 28A and 18 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the rod body 10).
Takizawa fails to explicitly teach such that inner peripheral surfaces of the at least one hood and the attachment member are screwed to an outer peripheral surface of the rod body.
Atnip teaches inner peripheral surfaces of the attachments are screwed to an outer peripheral surface of the rod body (Atnip; see FIG 2 where the hood 60, 40, and the nut 45 are directly attached to the rod via screws such that the inner peripheral surface of the device is threaded onto the rod).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Takizawa such that it has the threaded outer surface of the rod with adjustable mounting zones as taught by Atnip such that the at least one hood and the attachment member which are fixed to the rod of Takizawa are screwed to an outer peripheral surface of the rod body. The motivation for doing so would be to create areas in which the reel seat can be adjustably mounted to the rod at varying locations.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over(US 5632111 A) to Takizawa in view of (US 20190166816 A1) to Iwata.
In regards to claim 8, Takizawa teaches the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, wherein the fairing portion and the buttock portion are integrally formed (Takizawa; see where the forward part of 16, 22, and 16B are integrally formed), but fails to teach where it is formed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
Iwata teaches the reel seat member is carbon fiber reinforced plastic (Iwata; [0060] where 11, which is the reel seat grip member, is an integral piece formed by injection molding using synthetic resins (plastics) with carbon fibers).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Takizawa such that the reel seat grip member in its integral form is made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, such as taught by Iwata. The motivation for doing so would be to utilize material which can be easily manufactured into desired shapes via injection molding, which has qualities of rust resistance, a lightweight construction, and sturdiness.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 5632111 A) to Takizawa in view of (KR 101899833 B1).
In regards to claim 10, Takizawa teaches the reel seat grip member according to claim 1, but fails to teach wherein one or a plurality of honeycomb structures are formed in a part of the reel seat grip member.
KR’833 teaches wherein one or a plurality of honeycomb structures are formed in a part of the reel seat grip member (KR’833; “A fishing rod handle made of a honeycomb structure made of a polygonal hollow body” see also FIGs 4 and 3 where the honeycomb structure is on 130, 190 of the reel seat grip member).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Takizawa such that the honeycomb structure is formed in a part of the reel seat grip member such as taught by KR’833. The motivation for doing so would be to utilize a structure which could enhance grip, prevent slippage, and remove excess material to provide a lightweight grip.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-12, 14-15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Specifically, Takizawa is introduced to teach the amended claim language of independent claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 5363586 A to Balkenbush and US 4653215 A to Strader both teach reel seat grip members which are spaced away from the rod between the pair of hoods.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATELYN T TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-0023. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8-6.
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, KIMBERLY BERONA can be reached on (571) 272-6909. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KATELYN T TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647
Prosecution Insights