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 .
1.Claims 1-19 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, line 23, “after” should be deleted and at line 24 of the claim, “has been” should be changed to –is--. Also, after “to” at the end of line 24 of the claim, the following recitation should be inserted: -- reach or exceed said first predetermined setpoint
value --. Claim 2 also needs amending such that “reach or exceed” at line 2 should be changed to –wherein upon reaching or exceeding--. Claim 11, lines 3-4, “the elastomer materials” lacks antecedent basis.
2.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) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Schlenker 2,913,869 (see 31 and 32 in Figs. 1, 2 and 5).
Schlenker discloses a timepiece (1 in Fig. 1) which contains a waterproof component (31 and 32 in Figs. 1, 2 and 5) as set forth in the instant product claims. It is submitted that the waterproof component shown in the applied reference meets the structural limitations of the claims and the exact manner of making same would not carry any patentable weight with respect to the product claims. Ie, the language “using the production method according to claim 1” in claim 18 does not differentiate the instant claim from the timepiece of Schlenker since the exact manner of making the component would not impart patentability to the product which does not “know” how it is being made. Also, the waterproof component of Schlenker is certainly capable of being made by an additive manufacturing operation.
3.Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATHIEU D VARGOT whose telephone number is (571)272-1211. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri from 9 to 6.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christina A Johnson, can be reached at telephone number 571 272-1176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATHIEU D VARGOT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742
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