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)(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 1-9, 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Nakanishi US 20190265649.
With regard to claim 1 Nakanishi discloses a watch comprising:
a dial (10a) on which a plurality of hour markers (figure 1) and
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a plurality of markers other than the plurality of hour markers are mounted (figures 1 and 11);
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a first pointer (11) that points at one of the plurality of hour markers on the dial by rotating around a first rotation axis (figure 1) ; and
a second pointer (41 figures 1, 11, and/or 25 figure 1) that points at one of the plurality of markers on the dial by rotating around a second rotation axis (figures 1, 11), wherein numerals or letters respectively corresponding to the plurality of markers are placed on respective (figures 1, 11)
extension lines of the plurality of markers (figures 1 and 11 each of the sub dials has a line set denoting the positions) adjacent to one another, wherein the letters include a set of letters (figure 1)
With regard to claim 2 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 1, wherein, when the pointer points at one of the plurality of the markers, a tip of the pointer overlaps with the one of the plurality of the markers that is pointed at (sub dial of 41 figure 1).
With regard to claim 3 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 1, wherein, when the pointer points at the one of the plurality of the markers, the tip of the pointer does not overlap with any one of the numerals or the letters that corresponds to the one of the plurality of the markers that is pointed at (sub dial of 25 figure 1).
With regard to claim 4 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 1, wherein the numerals or the letters respectively corresponding to the plurality of markers adjacent to one another are placed in an array (the numbers or letters are arranged in an ordered sequence – figure 1)
With regard to claim 5 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of markers include a reference marker that corresponds to a reference number, wherein respective line segments of the plurality of markers get longer from the reference marker to ones of the plurality of markers that are placed further from the reference marker (figure 1 some of the reference markers are longer than the others.)
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With regard to claim 6 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 5, wherein the reference marker is placed such that the pointer points at the reference marker in a horizontal direction (figure 1, both sub dials have a horizontal marker – figure 1).
With regard to claim 7 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 5, wherein the array in which the numerals or the letters are placed is perpendicular to an extension direction of the reference marker The array is perpendicular to the pointer to facilitate it pointing as it rotates – figure 1).
With regard to claim 8 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 4, wherein the numerals include 0 (“0” of sub dial corresponding to point 41 – figure 1) and other numerals with different signs (plus and minus 43 figure 11), the other numerals being two sets of numerals denoting numbers respectively opposite of each other, wherein the two sets of the numerals are placed symmetrically with respect to 0 (figure 11).
With regard to claim 9 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 8, wherein the signs are placed in respective display areas different from a display area of the numerals, and each of the signs is collectively given to each of the two sets of numerals denoting the numbers with the respective signs (43 figure 11).
With regard to claim 11 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 1, wherein the numerals or the letters are in different colors respectively (paragraphs 70, 73).
With regard to claim 12 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 1, comprising: a sensor that obtains predetermined information, wherein the markers indicate a value that is obtained from the sensor (paragraph 12, first indicating hand 41 paragraph 51).
With regard to claim 13 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 12, wherein the sensor includes at least one of a barometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an orientation sensor (paragraph 12).
With regard to claim 14 Nakanishi discloses the watch according to claim 9, wherein the signs include a plus sign and a minus sign, wherein one of the plurality of hour markers is placed between a display area of the plus sign and a display area of the minus sign (43 figure 11).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakanishi US 20190265649 in view of Sawai US 20220397865
With regard to claim 10 (depends from claim 8) Nakanishi does not teach the claimed: wherein, being among the numerals or the letters in the array in a direction of an imaginary line connecting 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, 0 is at a position corresponding to a center of one of the plurality of hour markers that indicates 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock. Sawai teaches a dial centered on the 6 o clock 3 o clock line – figure 1.
Before the earliest effective filling date it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to configure Nakanishi’s system to comprise being among the numerals or the letters in the array in a direction of an imaginary line connecting 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, 0 is at a position corresponding to a center of one of the plurality of hour markers that indicates 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock, as taught in part by Sawai. The reason for doing so would have been to increase readability and visibility of the sub dial by locating it in the left most possible region. A reason for doing so would have been to achieve a unique visual aesthetic as taught by Sawai.
Conclusion
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/SEAN KAYES/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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