DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claim 4 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 07/23/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 07/23/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “The Requirement does not indicate where the spring rate of the spring 28 is disclosed in Stephenson, nor does the Requirement indicate where the flexibility of the rod portion 12 is disclosed…Because Stephenson appears to be silent regarding the flexibility of the spring 28 and the rod portion 12, Applicant assumes that these properties must be within the personal knowledge of the examiner…Applicant submits that the evidentiary requirements to show lack of a special technical feature are equivalent to those of a rejection over cited art.”. This is not found persuasive because it was disclosed at column 4, lines 42-47 that “The thin apex 54 is at least moderately resilient but can be made of the same material as the entire forward section 13 (or for that matter the remainder of the handle) and yet have sufficient resilience simply by forming that section of a thermoplastic such as polypropylene copolymer, preferably glass filled to control the hardness and tensile modulus.” Front cork 20 and rear cork 80 also indicate the presence of softer materials on the gripping portions of the fishing rod handle 11. The spring 71 is disclosed at column 5, lines 18-55 as “A spring 71 is compressed between the base 72…and the rear wall 73…To mount a spinning reel on handle 11…the heel hood 66 and the reel 27 is moved to press the mounting foot 26 rearwardly of the handle against the reel hood 66 and the reel 27 is moved to press the mounting foot 26 rearwardly of the handle against the reel hood 66 and thereby compress the spring 71. The heel hood 66 is moved against the spring 71 sufficiently that the toe 35 of the mounting foot 26 can be swung radially inwardly past the toe hood 32…As that hand grasping the reel 27 relaxes, the spring 71 forces the reel hood 66 forwardly until the mounting foot 26 is held against the reel seat 25 by the engaging surfaces 33 and 67 on the toe and heel hoods 32 and 66 respectively.” From this disclosure, it is clear that the spring 71 is sufficiently resilient to be caused to repeatedly compress or expand in response to the pressure applied to and removed from the reel hood 66 so as to clearly secure the reel 27 thereto, wherein it is clearly disclosed that the conceivably the remainder of the handle 11 of the fishing rod is made such that it is of moderate resilience and having a hardness and tensile strength so as to be able to withstand the forces experienced by the fishing rod when it is used to fight fish that have been caught with the line on the associated fishing rod. Therefore, it is clear that the Stephenson discloses the aspect of the “bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body is lower than or equal to bending rigidity of a base portion of the rod body”.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 10, the term --a-- should be inserted before “bending”;
Claim 1, line 11, the term --a-- should be inserted before “bending”; and
Claim 3, line 2, the term --a-- should be inserted before “bending”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 3 is 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.
In regard to claim 3, the phrase “bending rigidity of a lower portion of a reel placing portion of the reel seat main body is set to be four to six times in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof” renders the claim vague and indefinite since it is unclear as relative to what other structure that the bending rigidity of the lower portion of a reel seat placing portion is a four to six times multiple.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by JP 2007-89468 to Watanabe et al.
In regard to claim 1, Watanabe et al. disclose a reel seat (see Fig. 1) that is attached to a rod body (10), the reel seat comprising: a reel seat main body (12) comprising a reel leg placing portion (surface between F1 & F2 in Fig. 1) on which a reel leg is placed, a fixed hood (F2) provided on a front side or a rear side in an axial direction of the reel leg placing portion, a tubular portion (front portion of 12 which is to the left of F1 and within 14 in Fig. 1) provided on the rear side or the front side in the axial direction of the reel leg placing portion, and an intermediate coupling portion (portion of 12 generally between the rear end of 14 & T in Fig. 1) coupling the tubular portion (front portion of 12 which is to the left of F1 and within 14 in Fig. 1) and a front or rear (12A is rearward of the reel leg placing portion) tubular portion along the axial direction; a movable hood (F1) provided on the rear side or the front side (F1 is on the front side) in the axial direction of the reel leg placing portion; and a nut member (14) provided on an outer surface of the tubular portion (14 is screwed onto the front portion of 12 in Fig. 1) and enabling movement of the movable hood by rotation (14 screwed onto front portion of 12), wherein bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion (the flexural rigidity of the rod in the proximity of the rear end of the reel mount main body 12 is greater than that of the rod in the vicinity thereof and is also greater than that of the rod just in front of the reel mount; In the first aspect of the invention, the bending rigidity in the vicinity of the rear end of the reel mounting portion main body is larger than the bending rigidity in the immediately preceding portion of the reel mounting portion) of the reel seat main body is lower than or equal to bending rigidity of a base portion of the rod body (thick region 10B; thick region 10B is thickened mainly using axial length direction fibers having the same (degree) elastic modulus as the axial length direction fibers of the relatively thin ridges 10A, and is thicker than the front side region 10A. The bending rigidity is considerably improved. Therefore, the fishing rod can be prevented from bending at the boundary between the rear end surface of the reel mounting portion main body 12 and the intermediate grip G1 front end surface, and stress concentration on the rod 10 can also be prevented; the vicinity of the rear end position of the reel mounting portion main body 12 is reinforced so as to have the greatest bending rigidity).
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by JP 2009-240250 to Kato et al.
In regard to claim 1, Kato et al. disclose a reel seat (see Fig. 2) that is attached to a rod body (3), the reel seat comprising: a reel seat main body (10) comprising a reel leg placing portion (11) on which a reel leg is placed, a fixed hood (12b) provided on a front side or a rear side in an axial direction of the reel leg placing portion, a tubular portion (left end tubular portion of 14 in Fig. 2 on the front side) provided on the rear side or the front side in the axial direction of the reel leg placing portion, and an intermediate coupling portion (flexible member 18 in low rigid region 15) coupling the tubular portion (left end tubular portion of 11,14 in Fig. 2 on the rear side) and a front or rear tubular portion (31) along the axial direction; a movable hood (12a) provided on the rear side or the front side in the axial direction of the reel leg placing portion; and a nut member (16) provided on an outer surface of the tubular portion and enabling movement of the movable hood by rotation, wherein bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body is lower than or equal to bending rigidity of a base portion of the rod body (The end portion of the main body 14 is formed with a low rigidity region 15 in which a predetermined range from the end edge 14a is lower than the bending rigidity of the main body 14 itself. This low-rigidity region 15 is a portion that exhibits an action that does not cause stress concentration on the main shaft 3 or relaxes stress concentration when the main shaft 3 is bent. The end portion of the main body 14 is provided at the rear end portion of the fixed hood 12b having a large thickness and high bending rigidity).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2007-89468 to Watanabe et al.
In regard to claim 2, Watanabe et al. disclose when the gripping part and the rear end of the fishing rod (grip region) are bent, the rear end of the fishing rod is applied to the lower side of the arm, or when it is operated by being directed to the belly, the load is absorbed not only by the front region of the reel mounting portion but also by the bending of the grip region, and the burden on the angler is reduced, further, a thinner fishing line can be used, further, since the entire length of the fishing rod is bent, it is possible to prevent the bending curvature of the rod immediately before the reel mounting portion from increasing, and the curvature becomes gentler, and the fishing rod strength is improved accordingly, also, if you hold the reel mounting part with one hand and hold the fishing rod rear end with the other hand and cast it, it becomes a casting operation that uses the deflection of the whole fishing rod, which increases the flying distance of the device and the accuracy of the throwing Will improve, that is, the casting performance is improved; the vicinity of the rear end position of the reel mounting portion main body 12 is reinforced so as to have the greatest bending rigidity and that the thick region 10B is thickened mainly using axial length direction fibers having the same (degree) elastic modulus as the axial length direction fibers of the relatively thin ridges 10A, and is thicker than the front side region 10A; the bending rigidity is considerably improved; therefore, the fishing rod can be prevented from bending at the boundary between the rear end surface of the reel mounting portion main body 12 and the intermediate grip G1 front end surface, and stress concentration on the rod 10 can also be prevented, but do not disclose the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat ranges from 0.8 to 1.0. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 since applicant has not disclosed that by doing so is critical to the design or produces any unexpected results, and it appears that the reel seat of Watanabe et al. would perform equally as well by doing so, and because a person of ordinary skill in the art would readily design the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat such that it ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 in order to cause the fishing reel seat to bend more gradually, when any external force is applied to the fishing rod, from a front portion of the reel seat towards the rear end of the reel seat so that the effects of using the fishing rod in fighting fish, improving rod strength, landing fish, and casting the rod are improved.
In regard to claim 3, Watanabe et al. disclose wherein bending rigidity of a lower portion (lower portion of 12 adjacent G1) of a reel placing portion of the reel seat main body (12) is set to be greater in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof (the vicinity of the rear end position of the reel mounting portion main body 12 is reinforced so as to have the greatest bending rigidity via 10B in Fig. 3 or via 16 in Fig. 6 or via 18 in Fig. 7), but do not disclose bending rigidity of a lower portion of a reel placing portion of the reel seat main body is set to be four to six times in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bending rigidity of the lower portion of the reel placing portion of the reel seat main body such that it is four to six times in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof since applicant has not disclosed that it is critical to the design or produces any unexpected results and it appears that the reel seat of Watanabe et al. would perform equally as well by doing so, and because a person or ordinary skill in the art would readily design the bending rigidity of the lower portion of the reel placing portion to be a multiplied factor so as to be able to achieve the desired level of overall bending performance in the fishing rod such as for preventing the deflection at the boundary between the reel mount main body and a grip region from being too great so that during hooking and fighting of a strong pulling fish, a large degree of bending at the reel seat is prevented to improve the hooking and landing operation when using the fishing rod.
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2009-240250 to Kato et al.
In regard to claim 2, Kato et al. disclose specifically, the low-rigidity region 15 is configured by thinning a predetermined range from an edge 14a on the rear side of the fixed hood 12b provided on the rear side of the main body 14 (a thin-thick portion is denoted by a reference numeral). 15a), in this case, as for the thickness of the thin-walled portion 15a, problems such as cracking occur if it is too thin, and if it is too thick, the bending rigidity increases and the tendency to cause stress concentration on the main bar 3 increases, it is preferable to set in the range of 20% to 50% of the wall thickness T at the rear edge of the fixed hood 12b, but do not disclose the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat ranges from 0.8 to 1.0. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 since applicant has not disclosed that by doing so is critical to the design or produces any unexpected results, and it appears that the reel seat of Kato et al. would perform equally as well by doing so, and because a person of ordinary skill in the art would readily design the bending rigidity of the intermediate coupling portion of the reel seat main body with respect to the bending rigidity of the base portion of the rod body in a downward direction of an up-down direction of the reel seat such that it ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 in order to prevent a large bending rigidity between the intermediate coupling portion and the base portion of the rod body so as to reduce the tendency to cause stress concentration on the rod body 3.
In regard to claim 3, Kato et al. disclose wherein bending rigidity of a lower portion (11,14 in Fig. 2) of a reel placing portion of the reel seat main body (10) is set to be greater in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof (low rigidity region 15 has a lower bending rigidity than main body 14; the end portion of the main body 14 is provided at the rear end portion of the fixed hood 12b having a large thickness and high bending rigidity), but do not disclose bending rigidity of a lower portion of a reel placing portion of the reel seat main body is set to be four to six times in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bending rigidity of the lower portion of the reel placing portion of the reel seat main body such that it is four to six times in a transverse direction with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof since applicant has not disclosed that it is critical to the design or produces any unexpected results and it appears that the reel seat of Kato et al. would perform equally as well by doing so, and because a person or ordinary skill in the art would readily design the bending rigidity of the lower portion of the reel placing portion, where the external forces experienced by the rod will be greatest, to be a multiplied factor so that the reel placing portion can resist the greatest bending forces associated with the fishing rod since the reel placing portion is the intermediary that is the point of leverage between the forward rod body portion and the rearward rod handle portion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARREN W ARK whose telephone number is (571)272-6885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5.
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, Kimberly Berona can be reached at (571) 272-6909. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DARREN W ARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647
DWA
