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)(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.
Claims 1-3 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(2) as being anticipated by WO 2014150008 A1
Regarding claim 1, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses the use of a percussion instrument, comprising: a housing, having a body part in a cylindrical shape; a head, covering an opening of the body part on an upper end side (see figure 1) ; a tension bolt (112), provided for applying a tensile force by pulling an outer edge of the head downward; a lug (114), fastening the tension bolt (112); and a first bolt (111), fixing the lug (114) to the housing (see figure 2), wherein the lug comprises: a fastening part (126), fastening the tension bolt (122); and a fixed part (122), extending to an inner peripheral side with respect to the fastening part (126) and fixed to a lower surface of the housing by using the first bolt (111) (see figure 2).
Regarding claim 2, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses wherein the first bolt is inserted from an upper side of the housing and fastened to the fixed part (see the insertion means in figure 2).
Regarding claim 3, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses wherein the fixed part (122) is fixed to the housing by using a plurality of the first bolts (111) arranged in a radial direction of the body part (see figure 1).
Regarding claim 8, WO 2014150008 the use of a tensile force application method, which is a tensile force application method for a head in a percussion instrument, the percussion instrument comprising: a housing, having a body part in a cylindrical shape; the head, covering an opening of the body part on an upper surface side (see figure 1); a tension bolt, provided for pulling an outer edge of the head downward (column 12, lines 15-24; column 1, lines 24-29); and a lug (114), fastening the tension bolt (112); and a first bolt (111), fixing the lug to the housing (see figure 2), wherein the lug (114) comprises: a fastening part (126); and a fixed part (122), extending to an inner peripheral side with respect to the fastening part (126) and fixed to a lower surface of the housing by using the first bolt, the tensile force application method comprising: applying the tensile force to the head by fastening the tension bolt to the fastening part (column 12, lines 24-30; column 13, 1-10).
Regarding claim 9, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses wherein the first bolt is inserted from an upper side of the housing and fastened to the fixed part (see the insertion means in figure 2).
Regarding claim 10, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses wherein the fixed part (122) is fixed to the housing by using a plurality of the first bolts (111) arranged in a radial direction of the body part (see figure 1).
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2014150008 A1.
Regarding claim 15, WO 2014150008 A1 discloses providing a housing having a body part in a cylindrical shape; providing a head covering an opening of the body part on an upper end side (see figure 1); providing a tension bolt (112) provided for applying a tensile force by pulling an outer edge of the head downward (column 12, lines 15-24; column 1, lines 24-29); providing a lug (114) fastening the tension bolt; and providing a first bolt fixing the lug to the housing, wherein the lug comprises: a fastening part (126), fastening the tension bolt (112); and a fixed part (122), extending to an inner peripheral side with respect to the fastening part and fixed to a lower surface of the housing (see the fixed part in the lower surface in figure 2) by using the first bolt (111).
WO 2014150008 A1 does not disclose a means for manufacturing.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to modify the device as disclosed in WO 2014150008 A1 since the manufacturing process is conventional and well known in the art.
Claims 4-7 and 11-14 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY R LOCKETT whose telephone number is (571)272-2067. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00 pm M-F.
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/KIMBERLY R LOCKETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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