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 action on the merits
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berger US 20200032554 A1, in view of Sweeney US 20190368226 A1.
Regarding Claim 1, Berger teaches: An identifier (14) of the state of a lock (1), the lock comprising a locking tab (13) designed to move between a distal position (Fig 13A) and a proximal position (Fig 13B) to close (P0054, the distal position of locking tab 13 shown in Fig 13A, correlates with the lock being closed)/open the lock (P0055, the proximal position of locking tab 13 shown in Fig 13B, correlates with the lock being opened); the identifier comprising a slider (14.2) which is attached to the tab (P0067, the back of slider 14.2 is equipped with 14.4 which attaches to 30 of the locking tab 13. Please note: it is the position of the Examiner that the paragraph has a typo and 14.2 corresponds with the slider and 14.3 corresponds with the slot, this is shown in Fig 6 and Figs 10A and 10B among others) and provided with a surface having two symbols (Fig 10A shows the front surface of 14.2 having two different symbols), and a viewer cover (2.1) provided on the slider (Fig 1 shows that cover 2.1 is provided on the slider by being mounted over the top of it, as Applicant’s is) and having a window (2.4), through which one of the symbols is displayed according to the position of the locking tab (shown in Fig 1 and described in P0056 and P0067), thereby indicating the closed/open state of the lock (P0056, P0067). Berger does not teach: the surface of the slider having two colors. Sweeney teaches that it is known in the art to have a lock (Sweeney: 10) with an identifier (Sweeney: 32), comprising a slider (Sweeney: 32 is a slider, P0045) which has a surface having two colors (Sweeney: 32a, 32b, P0003, P0037, P0046) to indicate the closed/open state of the lock (Sweeney: P0003, P0037, P0046). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Berger to include two colors on the symbol slider, as taught by Sweeney, as it’s known in the art that these are interchangeable (Sweeney: P0003, P0037), and would be obvious to try and yield predictable results of the colors being used to identify lock status.
Regarding Claim 2, Berger, in view of Sweeney, teaches: The identifier according to claim 1, wherein the slider is arranged on a support (Berger: Fig 6, 14.1), in which the viewer cover is attached (Berger: Figs 1-2, and 6, show that viewer cover 2.1 is arranged on support 14.1 via 11, 10, and 2 and described in P0053, P0056-57).
Regarding Claim 3, Berger, in view of Sweeney, teaches: The identifier according to claim 2, comprising a guide (Berger: Fig 10B shows the interior of 14.1 which is grooved top and bottom, these grooves being the guide) for guiding the movement of the slider (Berger: Fig 10B shows the interior grooves of 14.1 work to guide the movement of slider 14.2 as described in P0067).
Regarding Claim 4, Berger, in view of Sweeney, teaches: The identifier according to claim 1, wherein the slider is fixed to the tab by means of a drive shaft (Berger: Fig 6 shows that slider 14.2 is fixed to locking tab 13 via drive shaft 30 engaging into 14.4 of slider 14.2 as described in P0067).
Regarding Claim 5, Berger, in view of Sweeney, teaches: The identifier according to claims 2 and 4, wherein the drive shaft runs through an elongated hole (Berger: 14.3) provided in the support (Berger: shown in Fig 10B).
Regarding Claim 6, Berger, in view of Sweeney, teaches: The identifier according to claim 1, wherein the colours on the surface of the slider are red to indicate that the lock is closed (Sweeney: P0050) and green to indicate that it is open (Sweeney: P0050).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER F CALLAHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5847. The examiner can normally be reached Mon through Thur 7:30am-5:30pm.
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, Christine Mills can be reached at 571-272-8322. 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.
/C.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3675
/CHRISTINE M MILLS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
Prosecution Insights