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 .
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.
Claims 1-5, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Silvant, US 2015/0185702.
Regarding claim 1, Silvant discloses a timepiece comprising: a case band (3) that stores the movement; a rotating bezel (7) provided to be rotatable with respect to the case band; and a rotating bezel pressing ring (19) fixed to the case band, wherein the rotating bezel pressing ring includes a protruding portion (23) that protrudes outward in a radial direction, and that holds the rotating bezel (7) between the protruding portion (23) and the case band (3), the protruding portion is provided with an annular restriction portion in which a plurality of restricted portions are continuous with each other in a circumferential direction (teeth 23), the rotating bezel is provided with a restricting member (15) that engages with the restricted portion, and when the rotating bezel is rotated, the restricting member sequentially engages with the restricted portions, so that a click feeling is generated in the rotational operation of the rotating bezel, and a position of the rotating bezel is restricted [0051]-[0053].
Silvant does not explicitly disclose a timepiece having hands and a movement to drive the hands, however Official Notice is taken that hands and a movement to drive the hands is routine and conventional and would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Silvant states in paragraph [0001] that the invention concerns a timepiece.
Regarding claim 2, Silvant discloses in a state where the restricting member is not engaged with the restricted portion, the rotating bezel is rotatable in a first direction that is one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, and a second direction that is the other of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, [0044] the restricting member includes an engaging portion that engages with the restricted portion, and a biasing portion that biases the engaging portion toward the restricted portion, the restricted portion has a restriction surface that comes into the engaging portion to restrict a rotation of the rotating bezel in the second direction, and a guide surface provided continuously from an inner peripheral-side edge of the restriction surface to an outer peripheral-side edge of a next restriction surface in the first direction [0044], and as the rotating bezel rotates in the first direction, the engaging portion is guided by the guide surface to move toward an outer peripheral side in the radial direction, and when the engaging portion comes off from the guide surface, the engaging portion is moved toward an inner peripheral side in the radial direction by the biasing portion to come into contact with the restriction surface and to restrict the rotation of the rotating bezel in the second direction (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 3, Silvant discloses the guide surface includes an inner peripheral surface continuous with the inner peripheral-side edge of the restriction surface, an inclined surface continuous in an oblique direction from an end portion of the inner peripheral surface in the first direction toward an outer periphery in the first direction, and an outer peripheral surface continuous from an outer peripheral end of the inclined surface in the first direction (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 4, Silvant does not explicitly disclose the rotating bezel pressing ring is fixed to the case band by screwing, however, Official Notice is taken that screwing two parts together to fasten them is routine and conventional and would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Silvant says the parts are integral [0040].
Regarding claim 5, Silvant discloses the rotating bezel includes a bezel body and the restricting member, the bezel body includes a base portion disposed between the case band and the protruding portion, and the restricting member is an elongated lever-shaped component attached to the base portion, and an engaging portion that engages with the restricted portion is provided at one end portion of the restricting member (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 7, Silvant discloses a packing (1201) is disposed between the case band and the rotating bezel.
Regarding claim 8, Silvant discloses a plurality of the restricting members are provided, and when the number of the restricted portions is n and the number of the restricting members that engage with the restricted portions at different phases is m, any of the restricting members engages with the restricted portion every time the rotating bezel is rotated by 360°/(n x m). The restricting members are distributed evenly and therefore will engage (at least partially) with the rotating bezel when turned.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Silvant in view of Wahler, US 2019/0187619.
Regarding claim 9, Silvant does not explicitly disclose the rotating bezel includes a bezel body and an indicator plate that is detachably attached to the bezel body, and the indicator plate is disposed on a timepiece front surface side of the rotating bezel pressing ring and the restricting member.
Wahler discloses a detachable rotating bezel (abstract).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Silvant to include a detachable indicator plate because Wahler states: “It can be beneficial for a wearer to be able to easily replace the rotating bezel. Various reasons can be cited to this end: personalization of the watch, temporary adaptation of the watch for certain activities, particularly sporting activities (for example, scuba diving). [0006]”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON COLLINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3994. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM.
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/JASON M COLLINS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2831
/EDWIN A. LEON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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