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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2022-94071 A (hereinafter “JP ‘071”).
With respect to Claim 1, JP ‘071 discloses a double-bearing reel 1 comprising a reel main body provided with an opening and closing mechanism 20,21,23 that allows a side plate
5A to be opened and closed with respect to a frame 3,3A,3B, wherein the opening and closing mechanism comprises a moving member 23,23G that is supported by the frame (while 23,23G are mounted in the side plate 5A, side plate 5A is supported by frame 3; therefore in can be said that moving member 23,23G is supported by the frame) in a displaceable manner (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 shows 23G being displaced within space 5G) and comprises an operating part 23G exposed from the reel main body and a locking portion (23A,23B,23C,23D,23E), and an engaging portion 21A,21B,21C,21D,21E provided on the side plate and engageable with and disengageable from the locking portion when the moving member is displaced by an operation of the operating part.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 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.
Claim 2 is allowable over the prior art of record because the prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest the entire combination of elements set forth including the locking portion is provided inside of the arc-shaped portion. JP ‘071 teaches the locking portions 23A,23B,23C,23D,23E are provided outside of the arc-shaped portion 23.
Claims 3-5 are allowed by virtue of their dependence from claim 2.
Claim 6 is allowed over the prior art of record because the prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest the entire combination of elements set forth including wherein in the side plate, an inclined state downward from a center in a vertical direction is larger than an inclined state upward from the center.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art shows double-bearing reels having opening/closing mechanisms.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMMANUEL M MARCELO whose telephone number is (571)272-6949. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:00 am-3:30pm EST.
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, Victoria P Augustine can be reached at (313) 446-4858. 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.
/EMMANUEL M MARCELO/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3654
/emm/