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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the
In claims 1, 5, 8, 16: the phrases: “a printed circuit board (PCB)”, “a Hall element”; “the magnetic switch is connected with the PCB”;
In claim 2: the phrase: “a hole”;
In claims 3, 11, 17: the phrase: “a cross-sectional area”; “a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four”;
In claim 4: the phrase: “an installation groove”;
In claim 7: the phrases: “the upper case is connected with the bottom case through a buckle structure”, “two protrusions”, “two through holes”, “two protrusions are arranged at the bottom end of the bottom case, and two through holes are arranged on the PCB, and each of the two protrusions is inserted into a through hole”.
In claim 8: the phrases: “a PCB”, “a Hall element”, “when the stem is pressed down, the permanent magnet comes into contact with the boss to make a sound”.
In claim 9: the phrase: “a width of a top of the boss is less than a width of a bottom of the boss”.
In claim 10: the phrase: “the boss is set in one of shapes of a circular truncated cone, a cylinder, a cone, a cube, and a pyramid”.
In claim 11: the phrase: “a width of the at least one sliding member on a side adjacent to the guide sleeve is wider than a width on a side away from the guide sleeve”, “a cross-sectional area of a top end of the at least one sliding member is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a bottom end of the at least one sliding member, and a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four”;
In claim 14: “a bottom end face of the permanent magnet is located in the installation groove, and a distance from the bottom end face of the permanent magnet to a bottom end face of the stem is less than a thickness of the boss”.
In claim 20: the phrase: “a buckle structure”, “two protrusions”;
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 2, 4-6, 15, 16, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vinal (US 3,815,066).
Regarding claim 1, Vinal discloses a device comprising:
a printed circuit board (11, PCB) and
a magnetic switch (34),
wherein the magnetic switch (34) is connected with the PCB (11),
the magnetic switch (34) comprises:
a bottom case (11),
an elastic member (40),
a stem (41),
a permanent magnet (19, 46), and
an upper case (24),
a Hall element (see col. 6, line 1) is installed on the PCB (11),
a bottom end of the bottom case (11) is connected to the PCB (11),
a guide sleeve (see the drawing below) is arranged in the bottom case (11),
the elastic member (40) is installed on an outer surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing below),
the permanent magnet (19, 46) is connected to a bottom end of the stem (41),
the bottom end of the stem (41) sliding fit with an inner surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing below), and
the stem (41) abuts against a top end of the elastic member (40),
an inner surface of the bottom case (11) corresponding to the guide sleeve (see the drawing below) is enclosed, and the upper case (24) is connected to the bottom case (11).
[AltContent: textbox (Installation groove)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Hole)][AltContent: textbox (Guide sleeve )]
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Regarding claim 2, Vinal discloses:
the upper case (24) is provided with a hole (see the drawing above),
wherein a top end of the stem is inserted into the hole (see the drawing above), an outer surface of the stem is in contact with the upper case (24) through the elastic member (40),
a boss (30) is provided on the inner surface of the bottom case (11) corresponding to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above).
Regarding claim 4, Vinal discloses:
an installation groove (see the drawing above) is formed in a bottom of the stem (41), and the permanent magnet (19, 46) is mounted in the installation groove (see the drawing above).
Regarding claim 5, Vinal discloses:
wherein the Hall element is welded on the PCB (11, see col. 4, lines 60-65).
Regarding claim 6, Vinal discloses:
the elastic member (40) is a spring.
Regarding claim 15, Vinal discloses:
a bottom case (11),
an elastic member (40),
a stem (41),
a permanent magnet (19, 46), and
an upper case (24),
wherein a guide sleeve (see the drawing below/above) is arranged in the bottom case (11),
a bottom end of the elastic member (40) is installed on an outer surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing below/above),
the permanent magnet (19, 46) is connected to a bottom end of the stem (41),
the bottom end of the stem (41) sliding fit with an inner surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing below/above), and
the stem (41) abuts against a top end of the elastic member (40),
an inner surface of the bottom case (11) corresponding to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is enclosed, and
the upper case (24) is connected to the bottom case (11).
Regarding claim 16, Vinal discloses:
the upper case (24) is provided with a hole (see the drawing above),
wherein a top end of the stem (41) is inserted into the hole (see the drawing above),
an outer surface of the stem (41) is in contact with the upper case (24) through the elastic member (40),
a boss (30) is provided on the inner surface of the bottom case (11) corresponding to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above).
Regarding claim 18, Vinal discloses:
an installation groove (see the drawing above) is formed in a bottom of the stem (41), and
the permanent magnet (46) is mounted in the installation groove (see the drawing above).
Regarding claim 19, Vinal discloses:
the elastic member (40) is a spring.
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 3, 8-14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vinal (US 3,815,066).
Regarding claims 3 and 17, Vinal discloses:
at least one sliding member (16, 17) is provided on the inner surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing above),
However, Vinal fails to explicitly disclose a width of the at least one sliding member (16, 17) on a side adjacent to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is wider than a width on a side away from the guide sleeve, a cross-sectional area of a top end of the at least one sliding member is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a bottom end of the at least one sliding member, and a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the width of the at least one sliding member (16, 17) on a side adjacent to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is wider than a width on a side away from the guide sleeve, a cross-sectional area of a top end of the at least one sliding member is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a bottom end of the at least one sliding member, and a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four for the purpose of suitability of the design choice. Since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 8, Vinal discloses:
a PCB (11),
a bottom case (also 11),
an elastic member (40),
a stem (41),
a permanent magnet (19, 46), and
an upper case (24),
wherein a Hall element (see col. 6, line 1) is installed on the PCB (11),
a bottom end of the bottom case (11) is connected to the PCB (11),
a guide sleeve (see the drawing above) and a boss (30, Figure 2) are arranged in the bottom case (11),
the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is configured to restrict a sliding direction of the stem (41),
the boss (30, Figure 2) is set inside the guide sleeve (see the drawing above),
the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) and the boss (30) are spaced apart from each other,
a bottom end of the elastic member (40) is installed on an outer surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing above),
the permanent magnet (19, 46) is connected to a bottom end of the stem (41),
the bottom end of the stem (41) sliding fit with an inner surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing above), and
the stem (41) abuts against a top end of the elastic member (40), and
the upper case (24) is connected to the bottom case (11), and
when the stem (41) is pressed down,
the permanent magnet (19, 46) comes into contact with the boss (30) to make a sound.
Regarding claim 8, Vinal teaches the claimed subject as disclosed above, however, fails to explicitly disclose the permanent magnet comes into contact with the boss to make a sound.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the permanent magnet comes into contact with the boss to make a sound for the purpose of suitability of the intended use.
Regarding claim 9, Vinal discloses:
the upper case (24) is provided with a hole (see the drawing above), and
a top end of the stem (41) is inserted into the hole (see the drawing above),
an outer surface of the stem (41) is in contact with the upper case (24) through the elastic member (40),
However, fails to explicitly disclose the width of a top of the boss is less than a width of a bottom of the boss.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the width of a top of the boss is less than a width of a bottom of the boss for the purpose of suitability of the design choice. Since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 10, Vinal teaches the claimed subject as disclosed above, however, fails to explicitly disclose the boss is set in one of shapes of a circular truncated cone, a cylinder, a cone, a cube, and a pyramid.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the boss is set in one of shapes of a circular truncated cone, a cylinder, a cone, a cube, and a pyramid for the purpose of suitability of the design choice, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Regarding claim 11, Vinal discloses:
at least one sliding member (16, 17) is provided on the inner surface of the guide sleeve (see the drawing below/above),
However, Vinal fails to explicitly disclose a width of the at least one sliding member (16, 17) on a side adjacent to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is wider than a width on a side away from the guide sleeve, a cross-sectional area of a top end of the at least one sliding member is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a bottom end of the at least one sliding member, and a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the width of the at least one sliding member (16, 17) on a side adjacent to the guide sleeve (see the drawing above) is wider than a width on a side away from the guide sleeve, a cross-sectional area of a top end of the at least one sliding member is smaller than a cross-sectional area of a bottom end of the at least one sliding member, and a number of the at least one sliding member is set to four for the purpose of suitability of the design choice. Since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 12, Vinal discloses:
a central line of the permanent magnet (19, 46) coincides with a central line of the boss (30).
Regarding claim 13, Vinal discloses:
an installation groove (see the drawing below/above) is formed in a bottom of the stem (41), and
the permanent magnet (46) is mounted in the installation groove (see the drawing below/above).
Regarding claim 14, Vinal discloses:
a bottom end face of the permanent magnet (46) is located in the installation groove (see the drawing above).
However, Vinal fails to explicitly disclose a distance from the bottom end face of the permanent magnet to a bottom end face of the stem is less than a thickness of the boss (30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the bottom end face of the permanent magnet to a bottom end face of the stem is less than a thickness of the boss for the purpose of suitability of the design choice. Since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
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Claims 7 and 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vinal (US 3,815,066) in view of Nishino et al. (US 7,489,296),
Regarding claims 7 and 20, Vinal teaches the claimed subject as disclosed above, however, fails to explicitly disclose the upper case is connected with the bottom case through a buckle structure, two protrusions are arranged at the bottom end of the bottom case, and two through holes are arranged on the PCB, and each of the two protrusions is inserted into a through hole.
Nishino discloses a device comprising:
the upper case (36) is connected with the bottom case (26) through a buckle structure, two protrusions (32) are arranged at the bottom end of the bottom case (26) and two through holes (34) are arranged on the PCB (24), and each of the two protrusions (32) is inserted into a through hole (34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the two protrusions (32) are arranged at the bottom end of the bottom case (26) and two through holes (34) are arranged on the PCB (24), and each of the two protrusions (32) is inserted into a through hole (34) as taught by Nishino with Vinal’s device for the purpose of maintaining the upper case and the bottom case in place.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Lisa Homza whose telephone number is (571) 272-3592.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached on (571) 272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Lisa Nhung Homza/
Patent Examiner - Art Unit 2837
June 14, 2026
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights