DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-6 are 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.
The claims do not particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, in that the scope of invention has not been sufficiently defined, making the boundaries of the scope of claim language unclear. See MPEP 2173. The claims lack sufficient structural and/or functional language required to clearly define the scope of a distinct operable invention. Some examples of this lack of structurally and/or functional language are directed to the following:
In claim 1, in claim 1, a “security system for locks” is set forth, yet the type of system and/or type of locks or what the security system for locks is intended to be for is unclear, making the scope of claim language indefinite.
In claim 1, a security system for locks is defined yet no security function is clearly discernable from the claim language.
Throughout the claims, particularly claim 1, elements are claimed yet the intended structural and/or functional purpose(s) of such elements in the context of the claim language is unclear and not fully understood. Nor is it clear how each element contributes to the aims of the security system for locks.
In claim 1, it is unclear and not fully understood how, in what way, and by what means does “transmit an operating movement to the latch…” achieved in the context of the claim language.
The same or similar 112 issues as above are found throughout the remaining claims.
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 –
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McCarter, US Patent 2,086,982. As in claim 1, a security system for locks, wherein the lock comprises a latch 10, a follower 27 configured to rotate and transmit an opening movement to the latch, wherein the follower comprises a recess (see figure 1), and an interaction element 24 configured for being inserted in the recess of the follower, wherein said security system comprises a hinged locking element 30, said hinged locking element comprising a hinge shaft 31, a support portion (at least extending from 36 through the region around 31) and a locking portion (at least including the region near the engagement with 24), said hinged locking element being configured to rotate about the hinge shaft and lock the interaction element by means of the locking portion.
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.
Claims 2-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McCarter.
Although the particular proportional formula and other elements of the claim may not have been explicitly provided, for each of these claims, the prior art element performs the function specified in the claim in substantially the same manner as the function is performed by the corresponding element described in the specification, and such structure are considered art recognized equivalent structures and would have functional at least equally as well. It would have been obvious to modify the device in this way for the purpose of providing an alternative arrangement that would have functioned at least equally as well. In addition, (a) combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results; (b) simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results; (c) use of known technique to improve similar devices in the same way; (c) applying a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable have each been held as being obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. Further, (e) it would be obvious to try such a modification, since choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success has been held as obvious. See KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK A WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-7064. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday.
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/MARK A WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675