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 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mikio (JP2012247002A).
Regarding claim 1, Mikio teaches an inhibitor switch comprising: a movable member 8 that moves relative to a stationary member 5 in a first axis direction; a movable contact (H1-H4) provided at a portion of the movable member facing the stationary member; and a stationary contact (S1-S4) provided at a portion of the stationary member facing the movable member, wherein the movable member includes a connection portion (pin 7) with a shaft member 2 that moves in a second axis direction according to a selection range, the connection portion is connected to the shaft member in a radial direction of a second axis, and the connection portion is provided with a regulation portion 10 configured to regulate inclination of the connection portion with respect to the second axis (the pressing means 10 acts as regulation portion because it continuously forces the engagement pin’s 7 flat face into contact with the groove, thereby limiting any inclination of the pin relative to the spool axis, see paragraph 46).
Regarding claim 2, Mikio teaches the inhibitor switch wherein the movable member 8 and the shaft member 2 are arranged in parallel, and the movable member reciprocates along the first axis direction in conjunction with forward and backward movement of the shaft member along the second axis direction (Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 3, Mikio teaches the inhibitor switch wherein the stationary contact (S1-S4) is provided on a side opposite to the shaft member when viewed from the movable contact, the connection portion 7 includes a loose fitting portion that is loosely fitted to the shaft member (there’s clearance between the engaging pin 7 and the engaging, see Fig. 51), and the regulation portion 10 is provided on a side opposite to the movable contact in the first axis direction when viewed from the loose fitting portion (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 5, Mikio teaches the inhibitor switch wherein the shaft member is a spool of a manual valve (Fig.2 and paragraph 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 4, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed switch wherein the regulation portion is a protrusion protruding from the movable member toward the shaft member in a radial direction of a first axis.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shimada teaches a similar inhibitor switch.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED M SAEED whose telephone number is (571)270-7976. The examiner can normally be reached 10-8pm.
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/AHMED M SAEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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