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 § 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 11-40 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 11 there is lack of antecedent basis for “its triggering position”. The meaning of “its” isn’t clearly stated. If this is referring back to a triggering position or the triggering position it should be clearly stated.Claim 11 recites “wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position”. In addition to the obvious lack of antecedent basis for the triggering position, the trigger or its position is not otherwise defined. Thus, it is unclear what scope to attribute to this phrase. The phrase appears to necessitate the arrival of opposite features. Switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration entails a neutral state. Synchronized with the lever to its triggering position entails a trigger or action which is the opposite concept of being neutral. It’s unclear how to attribute meaning to this beyond the mere inherent parts of the locking member to unlock and thus trigger. For these reasons claim 11 is indefinite. Claims 12-28 depend from claim 11 and thus are rejected on the basis of their dependency.
Claim 29 similarly recites “wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position” and lacks antecedent basis for “its triggering position” because the meaning of “its” isn’t clearly stated. If this is referring back to a triggering position or the triggering position it should be clearly stated.
Claims 30-39 depend from claim 29 and thus are rejected on the basis of their dependency.Claim 40 similarly recites “wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position” and lacks antecedent basis for “its triggering position” because the meaning of “its” isn’t clearly stated. If this is referring back to a triggering position or the triggering position it should be clearly stated.
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 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 29-32, 34, 35, 38, 39, and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Rochat (US 2021/0278808).With regard to claim 11 Rochat discloses a control device, for a watch movement (abstract), comprising:
a lever (12) intended to be actuated, in response to an action by a user on an external control member (B), to move from a rest position (figure 1a) to a triggering position (figure 2),
an elastic return member (32) arranged to return said lever to its rest position (figure 1a),
an actuating member (6) movable between a neutral position and an actuating position (figure 1a; hammer 6 moves rectilinearly with slots 7, 8 between inactive/blocked positions and active reset position) in which it is intended to actuate a watch mechanism of the watch movement (abstract; paragraph 24),
a mechanical energy storage member (10) interposed between said lever (12) and said actuating member (B; flexible element / spring 10 connects control lever 12 and hammer 6. It stores energy during lever displacement before unblock, then restores energy to drive hammer paragraphs 24-29), and arranged in such a way
that it is charged when said lever moves towards its triggering position (figure 3a), and
that it can be discharged when said lever reaches its triggering position, by moving said actuating member towards its actuating position (figure 3a),
wherein the control device further comprises a locking member (11) intended to be actuated, in response to the action of the user on the external control member, to switch from a locking configuration, in which said locking member is held by default by an additional elastic return member to lock said actuating member, to a neutralized configuration (Blocking means/hook organ 11 holds hammer via pin 26 biased by spring 31. Push button lever/pushes hook organ end 11b to unhook pin, releasing hammer paragraphs 28-29), in which said locking member releases said actuating member to enable it to actuate the watch mechanism (abstract, figures 1a, 3a, paragraph 29), and
wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position (paragraph 29; the system is disclosed as a sequential linkage action. Lever rotation first loads spring 10 then pushes hook organ 11. Locking and unlocking must be related to the neutral and triggering phases. The trigger cannot operate while locked, likewise unlocking allows for the trigger. There’s no way to conceptually separate the linkages in a way that allows for differentiation from this prior art reference as claimed.).
With regard to claim 12 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 11, wherein said locking member is arranged to perform reciprocating movements between said locking configuration and said neutralized configuration (paragraph 28 the system moves between blocked and unblocked positions).
With regard to claim 13 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 11, wherein said lever is also arranged to act on said actuating member and move it towards said neutral position when said lever moves itself towards said rest position (the hammer displacing rectilinearly from the inactive position to the active reset position – claim 1. See figures 1a, 2, 3a regarding the actuated state intermediate state and neutral state).
With regard to claim 14 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 12, wherein said lever is also arranged to act on said actuating member and move it towards said neutral position when said lever moves itself towards said rest position (the hammer displacing rectilinearly from the inactive position to the active reset position – claim 1. See figures 1a, 2, 3a regarding the actuated state intermediate state and neutral state).
With regard to claim 18 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 11, wherein said lever comprises a stop arranged to act on said locking member and move it from said locking configuration to said neutralized configuration in response to the action of the user on the external control member (12’ paragraph 29 acts as a stop. See figure 1a.).
With regard to claim 19 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 13, wherein said lever comprises a stop arranged to act on said locking member and move it from said locking configuration to said neutralized configuration in response to the action of the user on the external control member (12’ paragraph 29 acts as a stop. See figure 1a.).
With regard to claim 20 Rochat discloses the control device of claim 14, wherein said lever comprises a stop arranged to act on said locking member and move it from said locking configuration to said neutralized configuration in response to the action of the user on the external control member (12’ paragraph 29 acts as a stop. See figure 1a.).
With regard to claim 29 Rochat discloses a watch movement (abstract) comprising a watch mechanism (chronograph – paragraph 2) associated with a control device (figure 1a, abstract) comprising:
a lever (12 figure 1a) intended to be actuated, in response to an action by a user on an external control member (push button B figure 1a), to move from a rest position to a triggering position (figures 2, 3),
an elastic return member (return spring 32, paragraph 33) arranged to return said lever to its rest position (paragraph 33),
an actuating member (hammer 6) movable between a neutral position and an actuating position (inactive blocking position and active reset position – paragraph 27; hammer 6 moves rectilinearly with slots 7, 8) in which it is intended to actuate a watch mechanism of the watch movement,
a mechanical energy storage member (10) interposed between said lever (12) and said actuating member (6), and arranged in such a way that it is charged when said lever moves towards its triggering position (paragraph 26, the rotation of the lever operates on the spring 10), and
that it can be discharged when said lever reaches its triggering position (paragraph 26), hammer is driven by the energy of the element 10), by moving said actuating member towards its actuating position, wherein the control device further comprises a locking member (hook 11) intended to be actuated, in response to the action of the user on the external control member, to switch from a locking configuration (inactive position where hook 11 holds pin 26, paragraph 29), in which said locking member is held by default by an additional elastic return member to lock said actuating member, to a neutralized configuration (paragraph 29), in which said locking member releases said actuating member to enable it to actuate the watch mechanism (paragraph 29), and
wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position (paragraph 29 the system performs sequential operations. The lever loads the spring 10 then pushes 11. Locking and unlocking pertain to the triggering phases.)
With regard to claim 30 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 29, wherein said locking member is arranged to perform reciprocating movements between said locking configuration and said neutralized configuration (paragraph 28 the system moves between blocked and unblocked positions).
With regard to claim 31 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 29, wherein said lever is also arranged to act on said actuating member and move it towards said neutral position when said lever moves itself towards said rest position (the hammer displacing rectilinearly from the inactive position to the active reset position – claim 1. See figures 1a, 2, 3a regarding the actuated state intermediate state and neutral state).
With regard to claim 32 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 30, wherein said lever is also arranged to act on said actuating member and move it towards said neutral position when said lever moves itself towards said rest position (the hammer displacing rectilinearly from the inactive position to the active reset position – claim 1. See figures 1a, 2, 3a regarding the actuated state intermediate state and neutral state).
With regard to claim 34 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 29, wherein said lever comprises a stop arranged to act on said locking member and move it from said locking configuration to said neutralized configuration in response to the action of the user on the external control member (12’ paragraph 29 acts as a stop. See figure 1a.).
With regard to claim 35 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 32, wherein said lever comprises a stop arranged to act on said locking member and move it from said locking configuration to said neutralized configuration in response to the action of the user on the external control member (12’ paragraph 29 acts as a stop. See figure 1a.).
With regard to claim 38 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 29, wherein said watch mechanism is a chronograph mechanism comprising at least one return-to-zero lever arranged to be actuated by said actuating member in response to the action of the user on the external control member (heart cams 14, 15 figure 1, abstract, paragraphs 2, 3).
With regard to claim 39 Rochat discloses the watch movement of claim 37, wherein said watch mechanism is a chronograph mechanism comprising at least one return-to-zero lever arranged to be actuated by said actuating member in response to the action of the user on the external control member (heart cams 14, 15 figure 1, abstract, paragraphs 2, 3).
With regard to claim 40 Rochat discloses a timepiece (abstract, paragraph 8) comprising a watch movement (paragraphs 1, 2) including a watch mechanism associated with a control device (figure 1a) comprising:
a lever (12 figure 1a, paragraph 26) intended to be actuated, in response to an action by a user on an external control member (push button B), to move from a rest position (figure 1a) to a triggering position (figures 2, 3),
an elastic return member (32 figure 1a; paragraph 33) arranged to return said lever to its rest position (figure 1a),
an actuating member (6 figure 1a, paragraph 24) movable between a neutral position and an actuating position in which it is intended to actuate a watch mechanism of the watch movement (paragraph 27),
a mechanical energy storage member (10 figure 1a and paragraph 24) interposed between said lever and said actuating member (figures 1a-3), and arranged in such a way
that it is charged when said lever (12) moves towards its triggering position (paragraph 26), and
that it can be discharged when said lever reaches its triggering position, by moving said actuating member towards its actuating position (paragraph 29),
wherein the control device further comprises a locking member (11; paragraph 7) intended to be actuated, in response to the action of the user on the external control member (B), to switch from a locking configuration (11 holds 26; paragraph 28), in which said locking member is held by default by an additional elastic return member (31; paragraph 28) to lock said actuating member, to a neutralized configuration (unblocked active position - paragraph 29), in which said locking member releases said actuating member to enable it to actuate the watch mechanism (paragraph 29),
wherein said lever and said locking member are arranged in such a way that the switching of said locking member to its neutralized configuration is substantially synchronized with the arrival of said lever in its triggering position (paragraph 29), and
wherein the timepiece further comprises an external control member (B) arranged to act on said lever in response to a predefined action of a user thereon, to move said lever (12) towards its triggering position (abstract, paragraphs 26, 29).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, 16, 17, 21-28, 33, 36, 37 are not rejected under the merits of 35 USC 102 and 103.
Conclusion
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/SEAN KAYES/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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