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 .
This Office Action responds to the remarks and argument filed by applicant on July 29, 2026 in response to the Office Action mailed on April 29, 2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7, 9-10 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over admitted prior art Suzuki (JP2009-100953A).
.With respect to claims 1, 14 and 15 Suzuki discloses an item management system that detects presence or absence of an item, comprising: (par.31 - The product display stand 1 has a plurality of storage section electronic tags 6 attached to the storage recesses 4 in which the tester products 3 of each product display stand 1 are stored. The management control circuit 20 operates the tag reader 8 at predetermined time intervals so as to repeatedly read information from the storage section electronic tag 6 arranged on the commodity display stand 1; par.32 - management computer 2 stores a storage unit table in which information on the storage unit electronic tag 6 is registered and information on the current state of the storage unit electronic tag 6. Is registered, a counter table for counting and registering the number of times the tester product 3 is taken by the customer, and when the tester product 3 displayed on the product display stand 1 is taken by the customer. And a history table for registering whether or not the information has been received; par.34,35 - As shown in FIG. 9, in the current state table, a reading state item indicating whether or not the corresponding storage unit electronic tag 6 can be read by the tag reader 8 is provided in association with the storage unit tag ID. In the item of the reading state, the information stored in the electronic tag 6 for the storage unit using the tag reader 8 is registered with the ON state when the information can be read, and the OFF state when the information cannot be read., When the current state table is in the ON state, that is, when the information of the storage section electronic tag 6 can be read using the tag reader 8, the tester product 3 in the storage recess 4 to which the corresponding storage section electronic tag 6 is attached is removed. 2 shows a state in which the storage recess 4 has been removed. If the current state table is in the OFF state, that is, if the information of the storage section electronic tag 6 cannot be read using the tag reader 8, the tester product 3 in the storage recess 4 to which the corresponding storage section electronic tag 6 is attached is stored. 6A and 6B show the state of being accommodated in the concave portion 4 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B).)
a swing member that is swingable, around a predetermined axis, between a first position and a second position, the swing member being located at the first position when the item is absent on a reference surface, the swing member being located at the second position when the item is present on the reference surface; (figs.4-6; par.26 - obstructing portion 12 is configured to be swung about the bent portion 15 as an axis, and as shown in FIG. By being placed on the electronic tag 6, the obstructing portion 12 is caused to swing)
a torque generation member that generates torque of swinging the swing member from the second position toward the first position; (par.25,26 - bent section 15 bending part of the sheet base 13, the obstructing portion 12 is configured to be swung about the bent portion 15 as an axis, and as shown in FIG. By being placed on the electronic tag 6, the obstructing portion 12 is caused to swing; Note: torque generated by bent sheet material which returns to its original position after the bending force, i.e. the gravitational force exerted on the surface by the item placed thereon is removed, i.e. by removing the item from the surface of the tag)
a communication device; (par.24-27 - IC chip 9, electronic tag 6, antenna unit 11 emits electromagnetic wave used for communication)
a sheet-shaped radio wave shield member configured to shield a radio wave emitted from the communication device when the radio wave shield member is close to the communication device; (par.26 - obstructing portion 12, the interference unit 12 comes into contact with (approaching) the antenna unit 11, and the electromagnetic wave is shielded by the interference unit 12, so that communication using the electromagnetic wave between the antenna unit 11 and the tag reader 8 becomes impossible)
a wireless device that wirelessly communicates with the communication device; (par. 21,25- tag reader 8 can communicate with the tag 6) and
a control device that acquires a result of whether the wireless device is able to communicate with the communication device, and determines, based on the result, whether the item is present on the reference surface, (par.32 - management computer 2 stores a storage unit table in which information on the storage unit electronic tag 6 is registered and information on the current state of the storage unit electronic tag 6. Is registered, a counter table for counting and registering the number of times the tester product 3 is taken by the customer, and when the tester product 3 displayed on the product display stand 1 is taken by the customer. And a history table for registering whether or not the information has been received; par.34,35 - As shown in FIG. 9, in the current state table, a reading state item indicating whether or not the corresponding storage unit electronic tag 6 can be read by the tag reader 8 is provided in association with the storage unit tag ID. In the item of the reading state, the information stored in the electronic tag 6 for the storage unit using the tag reader 8 is registered with the ON state when the information can be read, and the OFF state when the information cannot be read., When the current state table is in the ON state, that is, when the information of the storage section electronic tag 6 can be read using the tag reader 8, the tester product 3 in the storage recess 4 to which the corresponding storage section electronic tag 6 is attached is removed. 2 shows a state in which the storage recess 4 has been removed. If the current state table is in the OFF state, that is, if the information of the storage section electronic tag 6 cannot be read using the tag reader 8, the tester product 3 in the storage recess 4 to which the corresponding storage section electronic tag 6 is attached is stored. 6A and 6B show the state of being accommodated in the concave portion 4 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B).))
wherein one of the communication device and the radio wave shield member is attached to the swing member, and when the swing member is located at the first position, the communication device and the radio wave shield member are not close to each other, (fig.5,6b - bent 15 attached to shielding sheet 14, swing position following the left arrow upwards, i.e. open is first position) and when the swing member is located at the second position, the communication device and the radio wave shield member are close to each other (figs.5, 6a - swing position following the left arrow downwards, i.e. close position is second position).
.With respect to claim 2 the features are disclosed in Suzuki (fig.5 - member 13 is elongated, bent axis 15 coupled to the left). The protrusion is however not disclosed. Making space for elevated objects by a protrusion in a sheet is considered as obvious choice for the skilled person.
.With respect to claim 3 the features are disclosed in Suzuki (fig.4 - electronic tag 9 and antenna portion 11 attached to the lower part of the sheet). 3.3.3 The supplementary features of claim 7 are implicitly disclosed in D1 (fig.5) and not novel, since the sheet (14) has its own weight which exerts gravitational downward force onto the bent (15).
.With respect to claim 7 the features are disclosed in Suzuki discloses in fig.5 where the sheet (14) has its own weight which exerts gravitational downward force onto the bent (15).
.With respect to claim 9 the features are disclosed in Suzuki (par.21 - The tag reader 8 can communicate with the storage section electronic tag 6 attached to the commodity display stand 1 using electromagnetic waves (radio waves); par.33 - the storage section table has a storage recess in which the corresponding storage section electronic tag 6 is attached in association with the storage section tag ID uniquely assigned to each storage section electronic tag 6). Using a conventional tag without any shield would represent an obvious choice which is not inventive. The same logic for determining its status being "ON" would apply as for the shielded tags that have no products on them.
.With respect to claim 10 the features are implicit features of the disclosed passive RFID tag in Suzuki (par.24 - passive RFID tag).
Claim(s) 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over admitted prior art Suzuki (JP2009-100953A), in view of admitted prior art Anonymous: "Radio-frequency identification - Wikipedia", retrieved on 11 September 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification ).
With respect to claims 11-13 the features refer to commonly known frequency bands in which RFID tags normally operate (see "Radio-frequency identification - Wikipedia", p.4), e.g. 13.56 MHz in the HF band, 865Mhz-928MHz in the UHF band and 2,45GHz and 5.8 GHz in the microwave band. The skilled person would use the commonly known and available bands for RFID tags based on circumstances such as range needs, or interference issues without performing an inventive step.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 and 9 are allowable over prior art. As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the pending claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/ROKIB MASUD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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