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
Claims 1-2, 5 and 8-9 are objected to because:
Claim 1, line 11, “from the bottom” should be deleted.
Claim 1, line 12, “the tops” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 1, lines 13-14, term, “abut” render scope of the claim unclear, since there is no indication of the pair of openings touching the lower peripheral wall.
Claim 2, line 5, “an upper surface” should be -the upper surface-.
Claim 5, line 2, “a pressing mechanism” should be -the pressing mechanism-.
Claim 8, line 4, “the buckle portions” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 8, lines 4-5, “the pair of buckle portions” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 9, line 4, “the guide rails” lacks antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Feng, US 20170148594.
Regarding claim 1, Feng discloses (figs.1-5) an improved key structure, comprising:
a lower housing (3) comprising a lower peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below), where the lower peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below) comprises a lower bulge portion (labeled in fig.1, below) two sides of the lower peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below) comprise a pair of openings(labeled in fig.1, below) the pair of openings (labeled in fig.1, below) further comprising a pair of elastic arms (labeled in fig.1, below) and the pair of elastic arms (labeled in fig.1, below) each comprise a latching portion (labeled in fig.1, below) and a pulling portion (labeled in fig.1, below); and
an upper housing (7) assembled on the lower housing (3), where the upper housing (7) comprises an upper peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below) and the upper peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below) comprises an upper bulge portion (labeled in fig.1, below);
where the elastic arms (labeled in fig.1, below) extend from bottom to top of the lower housing (3), the tops of the pair of elastic arms (labeled in fig.1, below) are aligned with an upper surface (labeled in fig.1, below) of the lower bulge portion (labeled in fig.1, below) and two sides of the pair of elastic arms (labeled in fig.1, below) abut against two sides of the pair of openings (labeled in fig.1, below) of the lower peripheral wall (labeled in fig.1, below).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 2, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed improved key structure, where one side of the lower bulge portion comprises a pair of symmetrical through holes, and the upper surface of the lower bulge portion comprises a positioning column and a positioning hole.
The prior art, either alone or in combination cannot reasonably be construed as adequately teaching the above limitations in combination with the remaining claim elements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lai et al, Shen, Zhang, Hsieh et al, Chan, Liao et al and Cai are examples of key switches configured similar to the present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM A BOLTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5887. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30AM - 5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee S Luebke can be reached at 571-272-2009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM A BOLTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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