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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 110051339.
CN 110051339 discloses a toilet-seat device comprising: a hollow toilet seat 1; and a sensor unit 2 including a sensor case 9,12,13 that is fixed to be exposed from an opening 6 formed in the toilet seat, the sensor case 9,12,13 housing therein a sensor substrate 14, wherein the sensor case 9,12,13 includes an engaging part 8 that is engaged with the toilet seat 1 to fix the sensor case 9,12,13 to the toilet seat 1, and the engaging part 8 is arranged in a position that is inner than an outer edge 9 of the sensor case 9,12,13.
Regarding claim 2, the sensor case 9,12,13 is exposed from the opening 6 that is formed in a seating surface 4 of the toilet seat 1, and the engaging part 8 is arranged in a position that is upper than the sensor substrate.
Regarding claim 5, the sensor case 9,12,13 includes: a main body part 12 that is fixed to the toilet seat; and a pressing member 13 that is fixed to the main body part 12, and the sensor substrate 14 is fixed to the pressing member 12 (Figs. 11,12).
Regarding claim 6, the pressing member 13 includes: a non-contact part (i.e. a rectangular hole in Figs. 11, 12) that is not in contact with the sensor substrate 14.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 7-9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUYEN D LE whose telephone number is (571)272-4890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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/HUYEN D LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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