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)(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) 1,2,13,14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being fully met by Adinolfi (USP 5293000).
Regarding Claims 1,13, Adinolfi discloses a percussion instrument (Fig. 2) comprising:
a body 12 of a cylindrical shape;
a striking head 14 attached to one axial side of the body 12;
a resonance head 16 attached to the other axial side of the body 12; and
a sound absorbing material 38 formed in a substantially disk shape that provides a partition between the striking head 14 and the resonance head 16, and having an outer edge joined to an inner peripheral surface of the body 12, that absorbs sound when the striking head 14 is struck.
Regarding Claims 2,14, Adinolfi discloses a percussion instrument (Fig. 2) comprising:
a body 12 of a cylindrical shape;
a striking head 14, attached to one axial side of the body 12;
a resonance head 16, attached to the other axial side of the body 12; and
a sound absorbing material 38 of a substantially cylindrical shape, having an outer peripheral surface joined to an inner peripheral surface of the body 12, that absorbs sound when the striking head 14 is struck.
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) 3-5,15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adinolfi in view of Rogers (USPGP 20130112068).
Regarding Claims 3,4,15,16 Adinolfi (applied here in a similar manner as claims 1,2 above) discloses all features claimed, but does not explicitly teach that the striking head or resonance head is a fabric woven with multifilaments.
Rogers discloses an electronic drum which comprises a drumhead 4 and resonance head 6 that is made of a fabric woven with multifilaments (mesh membrane, para. 0040).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to adapt the teachings of Adinolfi with those of Rogers, so as to bring a more controlled sound to the drum playing as is sometimes known in the art to be desirable (Rogers para. 0012).
Regarding Claims 5,17,18,19, Rogers discloses a first microphone 10 (para. 0050), collecting a musical tone generated by vibration of the striking head 4; and a signal processing part 12 (para. 0052), amplifying a frequency component of a predetermined frequency or higher of a signal based on the musical tone collected by the first microphone 10.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 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.
The prior art does not explicitly teach the vibration-proof material / support combination limitations as recited in claim 6 or the first and second microphone combination limitations as recited in claim 11.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references cited show related teachings in the art.
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JEFFREY . DONELS
Examiner
Art Unit 2837
/JEFFREY DONELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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