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 Objections
Applicant is advised that should claims 1-9 be found allowable, claims 21-29 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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 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.
Claims 1-3, 5-9, 21-23, and 25-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Partridge (U.S. 948,460).
As for Claim 1, Partridge discloses a shoe lace securement system comprising:
a pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms (3), each of the pair of shoe lace securing
mechanisms coupled to a same shoe (see Fig. 1), wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing
mechanisms comprises:
a container (container defined by 4) formed of a housing having a hollow interior (interior defined by 4) storing unused portions of the shoe lace (see Fig. 1);
a mechanism securing (6) one end of the shoe lace to the container; and
a first connector (14) coupled to a bottom surface of the container attaching the
container to the shoe.
2 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 1, wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises a second connector (aperture in 1) attached to the shoe, the first connector attaching to the second connector securing the container to the shoe (see Figs. 1 and 3).
3 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 1, wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises a slit (6) formed in the container, wherein the unused portion of the shoe lace is inserted into the slit and into the hollow interior of the container for storage (see Fig. 1).
5 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 1, wherein the container comprises:
a flat bottom surface (bottom surface which defines opening of 13); and
an enclosure (4) extending from an outer perimeter of the flat bottom surface forming the hollow interior (see Fig. 5).
6 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 5, wherein the enclosure is formed of a semi-pliable material (see Fig.1).
7 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 5, wherein the enclosure is formed of a semi-pliable and translucent material (see Fig. 1).
8 (Original). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 5, wherein the mechanism securing one end of the shoe lace to the container comprises:
a first opening (13) formed through the flat bottom surface; and
a second opening (opening of 6) formed through the enclosure;
wherein one end of the shoe lace is inserted into the first opening into the hollow interior and out of the second opening to secure the shoe lace to the container (see Fig. 1).
As for Claim 21, Partridge discloses shoe lace securement system comprising:
a pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms (3), each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms coupled to a same shoe (see Fig.1), wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises:
a container (container of 3) having an enclosure (4 defining enclosure) forming a hollow interior (4 defining hollow interior) storing unused portions of the shoe lace;
a mechanism (6) securing one end of the shoe lace to the container; and
a first connector (14) coupled to a bottom surface of the container attaching the container to the shoe.
22 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 21, wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises a second connector (aperture in 1) attached to the shoe, the first connector attaching to the second connector securing the container to the shoe (see Fig. 3).
23 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 21, wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises a slit (6) formed in the container, wherein the unused portion of the shoe lace is inserted into the slit and into the hollow interior of the container for storage (see Fig. 1).
25 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 21, wherein the container comprises a flat bottom surface (surface which defines aperture 13), the enclosure (4) extending from an outer perimeter of the flat bottom surface forming the hollow interior (see Fig. 5).
26 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 25, wherein the enclosure is formed of a semi-pliable material (see Fig. 5).
27 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 25, wherein the enclosure is formed of a semi-pliable and translucent material (see Fig. 5).
28 (New). The shoe lace securement system of Claim 25, wherein the mechanism securing one end of the shoe lace to the container comprises:
a first opening (13) formed through the flat bottom surface; and
a second opening (opening of 6) formed through the enclosure;
wherein one end of the shoe lace is inserted into the first opening into the hollow interior and out of the second opening to secure the shoe lace to the container (see Fig. 1).
As for Claim 30, Partridge discloses a shoe lace securement system comprising:
a pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms (3), each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms coupled to a same shoe (see Fig. 1), wherein each of the pair of shoe lace securing mechanisms comprises:
an enclosure (4) having a hollow interior storing unused portions of the shoe lace (see Fig. 5);
a mechanism (6) securing one end of the shoe lace to the container (see Fig. 1); and
a first connector (14) coupled to a bottom surface of the container attaching the container to the shoe (see Fig. 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 9, 24, and 29 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Tseng U.S. 8,888,346
Lai U.S. 2013/0255038
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID M UPCHURCH whose telephone number is (571)270-7957. The examiner can normally be reached 6AM-3PM EST M-F.
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/DAVID M UPCHURCH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677