DETAILED ACTION
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-20 are allowed.
Claims 3-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/27/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liu US 6491248 (“Liu”).
Regarding Claim 1, Liu discloses a pull-out control mechanism (10, figs. 1-5), comprising: a swing locking member (fig. 2 -4) comprising a swing member (13) configured to swing (about axis 19); a first rotating wheel (151) configured to rotate relative to the swing locking member (13); and a rotation locking member (153a) disposed on the first rotating wheel (151), the rotation locking member (153a) comprising an actuating member (ann. fig. 2, ridge of the ratchets) configured to actuate the swing member (13) in response to a rotation of the first rotating wheel (151), wherein the actuated swing member (13) is configured to be locked or disengaged with the actuating member (153a)(the swing member 13 locks when it is in the trough of the ratchet, see ann. fig. 2).
PNG
media_image1.png
468
473
media_image1.png
Greyscale
LIU – ANNOTATED FIGURE 2
Regarding Claim 2, Liu discloses when the first rotating wheel (151) rotates in a first direction (clockwise) for a first time, the actuating member (ridge of ratchet, see ann. fig. 2) actuates the swing member (13) in the first direction and passes over the swing member, wherein when the first rotating wheel (151) rotates in a second direction counter clockwise) opposite to the first direction for a first time, the actuating member (ridge of ratchet) actuates the swing member (13) in the second direction, and the swing member is locked with the rotation locking member, wherein when the first rotating wheel rotates in the first direction for a second time, the swing member is disengaged with the rotation locking member, and the swing member is in a free swinging status, and wherein when the first rotating wheel rotates in the second direction for a second time, the actuating member passes over the swing member in the free swinging status (col. 4 lines 1-37 describes the actuation and locking of the swing member, “Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the operation of the check device of the ruler in the present invention is illustrated. At first, referring to FIG. 6, when the ruler body 2 is pulled out from the casing 1, the rotary wheel 15 is driven to rotate clockwise (referring to the figure). Then ratchets 152a and 153a push the claw pieces 132 so that the claw pieces 132 may adhere to the outer edges of the ratchets 152a and 153a to rotate with the hatchets. Referring to FIG. 7, when the ruler body 2 stops (no force applies thereon). The ruler body 2 generates a restoring action due to the action of the winding spring. Then, the ruler body 2 will drive the rotary wheel 15 to rotate counterclockwise. The reed 14 presses downwards so that the claw pieces 132 will be engaged with the ratchets 152a and 153a, Thereby, the two ratchets 152a and 153a will stop to rotate. Thereby, the ruler body 2 is stopped by the friction wheel 151 and thus does not rewind. Referring to FIG. 8, when the user presses the press button 11 by a thumb, the block 111 under the press button 11 will push the press plate 12 downwards. Then the press plate 12 presses the resisting plate 133 of the stop claw 13. Thereby, the claw piece 132 at another end of the stop claw 13 will curl upwards and then separates from the ratchets 152a and 153a. Therefore, the rotary wheel 15 will separate from the claw pieces to be in a free condition. The ruler body 2 returns to the casing 1 due to the winding spring of the winding wheel 3 until a head 21 is stopped at the outlet end 103. The rotary wheel 15 rotates counterclockwise due to the rewinding operation of the ruler body 2 until the ruler body 2 stops to rewind. After the ruler body 2 has been rewound, the press button 11 is released. Then the claw pieces 132 are engaged with the ratchets 152a and 153a due to a pressing-down force of the reed 14 so as to achieve an stop effect. Furthermore, another end of the stop claw 13 will lift upwards, and the press button 11 moves upwards due to the restoring force of the press plate 12 so as to return to the condition illustrated in FIG. 4.“).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daphne Barry whose telephone number is (571)272-9966 and fax number is (571) 273-9966. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 9 AM-6 PM (eastern).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor either Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at (571) 272-4881 or Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center and the Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center or Private PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center and Private PAIR to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/DAPHNE M BARRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753