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 .
This is the first office action for application number 18/821,895, BOOK HOLDER FOR ONE HANDED NATURAL PAGE TURNING OF ALL SIZED BOOKS, filed on August 20, 2024.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: "10". Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: "42" in Fig. 1. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 13, and 16-19 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 6, line 2, --the-- should be inserted before "support"; in claim 13, line 3, "Providing" should be changed to --providing--; in lines 7, 10, 11, 13, and 14, a semicolon --;-- should be inserted after the last word in the line, in line 8, "Locking" should be changed to --locking--, in line 9, "Sandwiching" should be changed to --sandwiching--, in line 11, "Adjusting" should be changed to --adjusting--, in line 13, "Prying" should be changed to --prying--, in line 14, "Rotating" should be changed to --rotating--, in line 15, "Releasing" should be changed to --releasing-- and --; and-- should be inserted after "arm", and in line 16, "Grabbing" should be changed to --grabbing--; and in claims 16-19 in line 1, "3" appears to be incorrect and should be --13--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the edge" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 6, 7, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 3,343,776 to Wieszeck. Wieszeck discloses a book holder (10) comprising: a support (12), an arm (17) being pivotally attached to the support, a locking mechanism (20 & 21) configured to releasably lock the arm to the support, the arm being adjacent to the support wherein a reader can pry open with a hand the arm with respect to the support, a flexible elongated member (18) anchored to the approximate distal side of the arm, the flexible elongated member anchored to near the distal side of the support on the opposite side of the arm; wherein the bottom of the arm is at a predetermined height on support to allow for natural hand placement while prying; wherein the support has an indentation (Fig. 2) behind the distal end (19) of the arm; and wherein the arm can be rotated with a torque under 20 inch pounds.
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.
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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wieszeck. Wieszeck discloses the claimed invention except for the limitation of a plurality of magnets.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the locking mechanism in Wieszeck to have included a plurality of magnets for increasing the securement of the arm to the support and since such a modification would have merely involved a duplication of parts and would not have yielded any unpredictable results
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, and 13-19 are allowed.
Claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 5, 8, 9, and 11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the limitation of a book holder having a means for changing the length of the flexible elongated member across the front of the support, whereby a page of a book of any sized thickness can be quickly turned without damaging the book and increasing the flexible elongated members life, included in independent claim 1 and in combination with the other elements recited in the claim, which is not found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 11,178,963 to Jeon is directed to a book holder capable of holding books of varying thicknesses. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0189388 to Mills is directed to a book holder having a flexible member. U.S. Patent No. 2,807,908 to Lykes is directed to a copy holding device for a reading stand. U.S. Patent No. 7,240,887 to Buote is directed to a book holder having an arm for supporting a book.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANITA M KING whose telephone number is (571)272-6817. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/ANITA M KING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632 January 10, 2026