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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhao et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0163920 A1; hereafter Zhao).
Regarding claim 1, Zhao discloses a rotary connection structure comprising: a first external connection assembly being adapted to externally connect with a first photography device (see Zhao Fig. 2, item 10); and a rotation damping structure comprising a mounting member (see Zhao Fig. 1, item 308), a fastening member (see Zhao Fig. 1, item 302), and a connecting member (see Zhao Fig. 1, item 306), one end of the fastening member extending through the connecting member (see Zhao paragraph [0072] “The connecting body 306 can be provided with a fitting hole 3062 penetrating the fixing surface 3061 for receiving a portion of a threaded shaft 3022 of the connecting member 302”) to fixedly connect to the mounting member (see Zhao paragraph [0080] “The threaded shaft 3022 of the connecting member 302 can pass through the third through-hole 3084 of the bearing body 308 and be threadedly connected to the bearing member”), the connecting member being rotatable, in a damped manner, about the fastening member (while Zhao does not explicitly state that the connecting portion is rotated about the fastening member, as can be seen from Fig. 1, the dampers 305, bearing member 308, connecting member 306, and fastening member 302 are all co-axial, so when Zhao discloses that the connecting member can have damped rotation due to dampers 305, the rotation would also be about the fastening member 302), the connecting member being connected to the first external connection assembly (see Zhao Figs. 1 and 2, “connecting body” 306 is connected to “connecting portion” 301, which is part of the first external connection assembly 10).
Regarding claim 6, Zhao discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the rotary connection structure further comprises a handgrip, the handgrip being fixedly
connected to the mounting member (see Zhao Fig. 4, item 201); or the mounting member is connected with a second external connection assembly, the second external connection assembly being externally connectable with a second photography device (see Zhao Fig. 4, the gimbal head 202 is connectable to a second camera).
Regarding claim 13, Zhao discloses a photography kit comprising a first photography device and a rotary connection structure according to claim 1 (see Zhao Fig. 4, item 200, which can be construed as a photography kit).
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jiang (Pub. No. CN 214425455; hereafter Jiang).
Regarding claim 1, Jiang discloses a rotary connection structure comprising: a first external connection assembly being adapted to externally connect with a first photography device (see Jiang Fig. 3, item 12); and a rotation damping structure comprising a mounting member (see Jiang Fig. 3, item 2), a fastening member (see Jiang Fig. 3, item 23), and a connecting member (see Jiang Fig. 6, item 11), one end of the fastening member extending through the connecting member (see Jiang Fig. 6, items 23 and 11) to fixedly connect to the mounting member (see Jiang Fig.6, item 2), the connecting member being rotatable, in a damped manner, about the fastening member (see Jiang paragraph [0034] “When the first clamping plate 11 is rotated horizontally after assembly, one end of the first connecting piece 23 rotates in the first mounting groove, thereby adjusting the angle of the clamping assembly.”), the connecting member being connected to the first external connection assembly (see Jiang Fig. 3, item 12).
Regarding claim 2, Jiang discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the rotation damping structure further comprises a sleeve, the sleeve comprising a positioning portion and an extension portion connected to each other, a diameter size of the positioning portion being greater than a diameter size of the extension portion, the fastening member extending through the extension portion, the connecting member being formed with a receiving trough that rotatably receives the positioning portion therein, the receiving trough comprising a circular hole, the extension portion extending through the circular hole and fixedly connected to the mounting member (see Jiang Fig. 6, items 23 and 24).
Regarding claim 3, Jiang discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 2, wherein the fastening member comprises a screw rod and a screw top portion arranged at one end of the screw rod, the screw top portion being received in the positioning portion, the screw rod extending through the extension portion to threadedly connect with the mounting member (see Jiang Fig. 6, items 2 and 23).
Regarding claim 4, Jiang discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 2, wherein the rotation damping structure further comprises two damping gaskets both of which are mounted on the extension portion, one of the damping gaskets being located on the positioning portion and a trough bottom of the receiving trough, another one of the damping gaskets being located between the connecting member and the mounting member (see Jiang Fig. 6, items 25 and 26).
Regarding claim 5, Jiang discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 2, wherein a free end of the extension portion is inserted into a retention notch that is formed by recessing the mounting member, the extension portion engaging a notch sidewall of the retention notch so that the extension portion and the mounting member are not rotatable (see Jiang Fig. 6, item 24 and paragraph [0039] “One end of the protective sleeve 24 is rotatably accommodated in the first mounting groove, and the other end extends out of the bottom wall of the first mounting groove and is inserted into the second mounting groove. It cannot rotate relative to the rotating connection 21.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 7-12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao in view of Zhou et al. (Pub. No. CN 114198373 A; hereafter Zhou).
Regarding claims 7-12, Zhao discloses the rotary connection structure according to claim 1, but does not disclose a clip device like that called for in claims 7-12.
Zhou discloses a clip device wherein the first external connection assembly clamps and fixes the first photography device (see Zhou Figs. 1 and 5, items 2 and 6. See also paragraph [0048] “the heads of the two clamping bodies 1 clamp and fix on both sides of the first camera element 6”), the first
photography device comprising a first side frame (see Zhou Fig. 5, item 6, the portion shown can be construed as the first side frame), the first external connection assembly comprising two clamp bodies, a mounting base, and a first fastening assembly, the mounting base being fixedly connected to the connecting member, the two clamp bodies being rotatably arranged at two opposite sides of the mounting base, head portions of the two clamp bodies both extending beyond a front end of the mounting base to clamp and fix edges of the two sides of the first side frame (see Zhou Fig. 3, items 1, 2, and 11), a second spring being arranged between the two clamp bodies, the second spring driving the two clamp bodies to clamp and fix the first side frame (see Zhou Fig. 3, item 33); wherein the first fastening assembly is mounted on the mounting base in an extendible/retractable manner, a constraining portion of the first fastening assembly being extendible out of the front end of the mounting base, the constraining portion being insertable into a positioning aperture correspondingly formed in the first side frame (see Zhou Figs. 3 and 4, items 31 and 32); [claim 8] wherein the first fastening assembly comprises at least one push member, one end of the push member being provided with the constraining portion, the constraining portion comprising a cylindrical peg, the cylindrical peg having a cross-sectional area that is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a connecting portion between the push member and the cylindrical peg, a width dimension of a free end portion of the cylindrical peg being arranged to gradually contract (see Zhou Figs. 3 and 4, item 31); [claim 9] wherein the mounting base further comprises at least one elastic member, the elastic member being mounted in the mounting base, such that one elastic member drives one push member, in order to have the constraining portion extending beyond the front end of the mounting base (see Zhou Fig. 3, item 32); [claim 10] wherein the first fastening assembly further comprises a positioning pole, the positioning pole being fixedly mounted on the mounting base, the positioning pole extending in an up-down direction of the mounting base, the push member being formed with a sliding hole extending in a front-rear direction of the mounting base, the positioning pole penetrating through the sliding hole (see Zhou Fig. 3, pole on which spring 33 is mounted); [claim 11] wherein two external surfaces of the clamp bodies adjacent to tail ends are protruded to form connecting portions respectively extending in directions away from the clamp bodies, pressing portions being respectively connected to ends of the connecting portions that are away from the clamp bodies, the pressing portions being extended in a direction toward a rear end of the mounting base, so that a pressing space is defined between the pressing portions and the mounting base (see Zhou Fig. 3, rear portions of item 1); [claim 12] wherein the head portions of the clamp bodies are protruded from inner side surfaces thereof facing the mounting base to form clamping portions, the clamping portions being arranged for retaining engagement with the first side frame, the clamping portions and the clamp bodies defining therebetween an included angle α, 97°≤a≤105°, left and right sides of the first side frame being each recessed to form an insertion slot, the two clamping portions
being respectively insertable into the two insertion slots (see Zhou Fig. 7, item α, and paragraph [0011]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was field to replace the clamping mechanism of Zhao with one like that of Zhou in order to enable the device of Zhao to securely clip on photographing devices with the associated mounting connection as those shown in Zhou.
Regarding claim 14, Zhao as modified discloses a photography kit comprising a first photography device and a rotary connection structure according to claim 7 (see Zhao Fig. 4, item 200 can be construed as a “photography kit”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOAM S REISNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7542. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:30PM.
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, STEPHANIE BLOSS can be reached at 571-272-3555. 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.
/NOAM REISNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 2/18/2026