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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3 the “a” before “lower portion” should be replaced with a “the” since the feature was previously disclosed. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim should conclude with a period. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 4 the “a” before “lower portion” should be replaced with a “the” since the feature was previously disclosed. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 5 the “a” before “lower portion” should be replaced with a “the” since the feature was previously disclosed. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schustrin (2966004) and Zander (1552531). Schustrin discloses a launch system for toy spinning tops (Figs. 1) having a plurality of spinning tops (Fig. 1) and a bench (2) with a plurality of launch dies (1) each formed as a block of material having a hole extending therethrough (Fig. 1). Each of the spinning tops includes a main body (26) with an upper portion and a lower portion, a vertical axis and a spinning tip (24) extending from the lower portion (Fig. 4). The main body of each spinning top is configured to be received in a respective one of the launch die holes and below each die a bottom surface forms a catch ring with a flexible wing element (22) that engages the spinning top for holding it in place prior to launch (Fig. 1, column 2 lines 6-15). A plunger (6) is configured for pushing the spinning tops through the launch dies to launch the tops (Figs. 1-2). Schustrin discloses the basic inventive concept, with the exception of the upper and lower portions of the main body having a two-dimensional shape with at least one corner point configured such that the two-dimensional shape is rotationally shifted about the vertical axis to create a number of helical threads dependent on the number of corner points that can be received in the holes of the dies. Zander discloses a spinning toy system wherein a spinning top includes a body portion (11) that is symmetrical about a vertical axis and has upper and lower portions each defining a two-dimensional shape such as a square with corner points that are rotationally shifted in multiples of 180 degrees to define helical threads extending from the corner points between the upper and lower portions (Figs. 1 & 4). A die (16) with a hole therethrough is configured with an inner surface (21) shaped to correspond with the helical thread of the body portion of the spinning top for driving the top to rotate at it passes downwardly through the die (page 1 lines 27-51). The die and body can further be configured to take a variety of coordinated shapes (Figs. 3 & 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art from the teaching of Zander to modify and shape the body of Schustrin to define helical threads and to shape the hole of the die for receiving the threads for the predictable results of providing enhanced rotational characteristics to the top that further provide a more visually dynamic rotation effect.
Claim(s) 7-16 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schustrin and Zander as applied above and further in view of Licht (WO2020157148A1). Schustrin and Zander disclose the basic inventive concept, with the exception of the holes of the launch dies having helical threads that correspond to and receive a respective helical thread of the spinning tops. Licht discloses a spinning toy having a body that is configured with helical threads and a launcher with a hole therethrough that is configured on an inside surface thereof with corresponding helical threads for receiving the helical threads of the toy for imparting rotation to the toy as it is moved through the hole of the launcher (Figs. 14A-C). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art from the teaching of Licht to modify the die holes of Schustrin and Zander to include a corresponding helical thread for the predictable result of configuring the holes to provide the necessary rotational effects to the spinning tops thereby enabling a simplified and more durable launching mechanism to be created (page 1 line 25 – page 2 line 6).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schustrin, Zander and Licht as applied above for claim 16 and further in view of Weidetz (2007/0021029). Schustrin, Zander and Licht disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of each of the spinning tops having a different shape. Weidetz discloses a toy top system wherein a plurality of toy tops can be provided and each of the tops has a different shape (Fig. 6 & paragraph 35). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to give each of the spinning tops a different shape for the predictable result of providing enhanced versatility and functionality since the different tops can have different spin behaviors and cause enhanced interactions between the different tops should they contact each other after launch (paragraph 35).
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schustrin, Zander, Licht and Weidetz as applied above and further in view of Long (8814625). Schustrin, Zander, Licht and Weidetz disclose the basic inventive concept with the exception of each die configured to correspond with a respective one of the differently shaped tops and the tops and dies being color coded. Long discloses a device having differently shaped receptacles adapted to receive correspondingly shaped toys that are further color coded (Fig. 1, column 3 line 60 - column 4 line 8). Although, Long does not disclose a spinning top and launch dies, it does teach providing coordination between toy elements and receptacles that are also color coded to provide enhanced play value and functionality by providing additional learning capabilities.
Conclusion
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/A.M.H/Examiner, Art Unit 3711
/NICHOLAS J. WEISS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3711