DETAILED ACTION
This action is a first action on the merits. The claims filed on October 21, 2024 have been entered. Claims 1-4 are pending and addressed below.
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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
This application is a national stage entry of PCT No. JP2023/015358 filed on April 17, 2023 and claims foreign priority to Japanese Patent No. JP2022-070766 filed on April 22, 2022.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on October 21, 2024 has been considered by the Examiner.
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.
Claims 1-4 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.
Claim 1: Claim 1 recites “a lock portion provided on one of the fixed body and the opening-closing body; a lock member that is disposed on another of the fixed body and the opening-closing body and that is configured to engage with and disengage from the lock portion; a base member that is fixed to the other of the fixed body and the opening- closing body;” in lines 3-8. It is unclear as to which of the fixed body and the opening-closing body the base member is provided on . For example, if the lock portion is provided on the fixed body and the lock member is provided on the opening-closing body, is the base member provided on the fixed body or the opening-closing body. Also, is the base member always on the same part relative to the lock member, or is it sometimes on the same part as the lock portion. From review of the Specification as filed on October 21, 2024, in particular Figure 1, it appears as if the “lock member” and the “base member” are both on the opening-closing body and the “lock portion” is on the fixed body. For the purposes of examination, the Examiner has interpretated claim 1 as the “lock member” and the “base member” as both being provided on the same one of the fixed body and the opening-closing body. Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
Claims 2-4 are subsumed by the previously noted rejections because of their dependance either directly or indirectly. Appropriate corrections are required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
Claims 2-4 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claims contain allowable subject matter over the closet prior art “herein Nakasone, WO 2020/080344 (hereinafter Nakasone)” (all citations are to the English translation Nakasone, US 2021/0370840) and “Ookawara et al., US et al., US 2007/0163310 (hereinafter Ookawara)”, for the following reasons:
Nakasone discloses a lock device (lock device 10) for an opening-closing body (opening/closing 2) that is configured to be openably and closably attached to an opening portion of a fixed body (fixed body 1) (see Fig 1, 16, par [0044]), comprising:
a lock portion (pair of lock portions 1b, 1b) provided on one of the fixed body (1) and the opening-closing body (2) (provided to the opening portion 1a of the fixed body);
a lock member (lock members 50, 50) that is disposed on another of the fixed body and the opening- closing body (slidably arranged with respect to the opening and closing body 2, pf [0045]-[0046], lock members 50, 50 are located on opening/closing 2) and that is configured to engage with and disengage from the lock portion (1b, 1b) (par [0010]);
a base member (base member 20) that is fixed to the other of the fixed body and the opening- closing body (base member 20 inserted and attached from a front side of the attachment hole 6 to opening/closing body 2, see Fig 1, par [0045]); and
an operating member (operation member 40) that is rotatably supported on the base member (20) via a rotation portion (operation member 40 has the base end portion 41 that is rotatably supported to the rotation support portions 29 of the base member 20, par [0072]) and that is configured to operate the lock member (operation member 40 is configured to slide the lock members 50 by causing a gripping part 42 to come close to or to separate from the base member 20, par [0045]), wherein
the operating member (40) has an operating plate portion (surface of 42) extending in a plate shape (see Fig 4), an operating portion (gripping portion at edge of 42) provided at one end of the operating plate portion in an extension direction (see Fig 4), an operating load transmission wall portion (wall of cylinder accommodation part 44, Fig 4) protruding from a back side of the operating plate portion (42) (as shown in Fig 6), and a stopper portion (includes convex portion 47 and area near spring support protrusion 46, par [0047]) connected to the operating load transmission wall portion on a side of the operating portion (as shown in Fig 6), and
Nakasone fails to disclose the rotation portion formed by shaft portions provided on one of the operating member and the base member, and shaft support portions provided on another of the operating member and the base member to rotatably support the shaft portions, the shaft portions disposed so as to protrude from both sides of the operating load transmission wall portion toward the outside of the operating member or the shaft support portions disposed on the operating load transmission wall portion,
the stopper portion connected to the operating load transmission wall portion on a side of the operating portion with respect to the shaft portions or the shaft support portions, and
the base member has a pair of deformation restriction wall portions disposed outside portions of the operating load transmission wall portion where the shaft portions or the shaft support portions are provided, the shaft support portions disposed on the pair of deformation restriction wall portions or the shaft portions disposed to protrude from the pair of deformation restriction wall portions toward the operating load transmission wall portion, and a stopper receiving portion that is capable of coming into contact with the stopper portion and that is configured to restrict rotation of the operating member.
Ookawara further discloses a side lock apparatus. The side lock apparatus (Fig 2) includes the rotation portion (shaft holes 33 and shaft 14) formed by shaft portions (14) provided on one of the operating member (operation knob 5) and the base member (housing 1) (shaft holes 33 and shaft 14 are located on the operation knob 5), and shaft support portions (at shaft holes 13) provided on another of the operating member (5) and the base member (1) to rotatably support the shaft portions (13) (shaft holes 13 are located on housing 1, see Fig 2, par [0034]), the shaft portions (14) disposed so as to protrude from both sides of the operating load transmission wall portion (mounting pieces 32) toward the outside of the operating member (5) or the shaft support portions (33) disposed on the operating load transmission wall portion (32) (Fig 2, 3A, 3B, 11), and a stopper portion (stopper projection 34) connected to backside of the operating member (5) on a side of the operating portion (5) with respect to the shaft portions (14) or the shaft support portion (13).
Ookawara fails to disclose the base member has a pair of deformation restriction wall portions disposed outside portions of the operating load transmission wall portion where the shaft portions or the shaft support portions are provided, the shaft support portions disposed on the pair of deformation restriction wall portions or the shaft portions disposed to protrude from the pair of deformation restriction wall portions toward the operating load transmission wall portion, and a stopper receiving portion that is capable of coming into contact with the stopper portion and that is configured to restrict rotation of the operating member.
Nakasone and Ookawara fail to suggest alone, or in combination, the limitations of “the base member has a pair of deformation restriction wall portions disposed outside portions of the operating load transmission wall portion where the shaft portions or the shaft support portions are provided, the shaft support portions disposed on the pair of deformation restriction wall portions or the shaft portions disposed to protrude from the pair of deformation restriction wall portions toward the operating load transmission wall portion, and a stopper receiving portion that is capable of coming into contact with the stopper portion and that is configured to restrict rotation of the operating member” are recited in claim 1.
The Examiner is unare of prior art which reasonably suggests alone, or in combination, the limitations of the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The disclosure of Nakasone US2018/0298649 discloses a lock device with for an openable and closeable member and Yamada, US 7,475,929 drawn to a lid open-close apparatus with a locking device are relevant to the claims but were not relied upon in the current rejection.
Claims 1-4 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAROLINE N BUTCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1623. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 pm EST.
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, Tara E Schimpf can be reached at (571) 270-7741. 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.
/CAROLINE N BUTCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3676
Prosecution Insights