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 Status
Claims 14-24 are pending for examination.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group II, claims 13-24 in the reply filed on 6/18/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Regarding claim 14, recites the limitation “a housing which is generally prismatic in shape” with emphasis underlined. The term “generally” is a relative term which renders the scope of the claim vague and indefinite. The term is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Regarding claims 15-24, are also rejected because they depend on claim 14.
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.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tam (Pub. No.: US 2012/0256373 A1).
Regarding claim 14, Tam teaches a portable scoreboard (Abstract, Fig. 1 portable electronic scoreboard) comprising:
a housing which is generally prismatic in shape and having a front, a back opposite to the front, a top, a bottom opposite to the top, and opposite sides (Fig. 1 – Fig. 4, the housing has prismatic shape and front, back, top, bottom, left and right surfaces);
wherein the housing is configured to be supported in upstanding condition relative to a support surface (Fig. 3, shows the scoreboard in an upstanding position);
at least one display supported on the front of the housing and configured to indicate at least one score (Fig. 1, Fig. 6, Fig. 12, para [0063], “
“Reference is now made to FIG. 12 which shows the bottom half of the scoreboard display comprising of another set of seven-segment digits (144 & 150) that can be used for either displaying the game clock (152) or additional scores as required by the selected sport.”. The scoreboard includes a display 144, 150 for displaying the score.);
a controller supported by the housing and operatively connected to said at least one display (Fig 6, the microcontroller 48 is connected to the scoreboard display 38), wherein the controller is configured to determine said at least one score to be indicated on said at least one display (Fig. 9, steps 96, para [0056], “As the game proceeds, step (90) is a junction state that waits for game update input from the players via the wireless remote modules. Each user initiated score change input is checked by a Game Rule Violation algorithm (92 and 98). Only when the validate results with a pass will the change be registered (96) and actual scoreboard display updated (99) reflecting the new score.”. The scoreboard displays the score of the game according to the microcontroller 48);
a protective cover supported on the front of the housing, wherein the protective cover is in the form of a planar body having opposite first and second sides which are substantially planar, wherein the planar body is sized and shaped to cover the at least one display (Fig. 2, the top cover 2 protects the lower scoreboard.),
wherein the protective cover is movable between a stored position in which the planar body is covering the at least one display and a display position of the protective cover in which the planar body is disposed to one side of the at least one display as not to visually obstruct the at least one display (Fig. 1 shows the cover 2 is not covering the lower scoreboard and Fig. 2 shows the cover 2 is protecting the lower scoreboard.); and
wherein the first side of the planar body is arranged to face away from the housing in the display position (Fig. 3, the cover 2 faces away from the lower scoreboard) and arranged to receive indicia representative of an advertisement (Fig. 11, the cover 2 advertise the “Home” or “Guest” indicia).
Regarding claim 15, Tam teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 14 wherein the protective cover is pivotally attached to the housing for pivotal movement between the stored and display positions (Fig. 1, the holding hinge 6, para [0036], “A folding hinge (6) uses a multiple gear and ball-joint design that allows for three degree of movement between the two halves of the enclosure and the supporting leg extension (10).”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 16-20 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tam (Pub. No.: US 2012/0256373 A1) in view of Kruger (Pub. No.: US 2024/0198177 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Tam teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 14 but fails to teach wherein at least one of the housing and the protective cover includes magnets and the other one thereof includes mating components configured to cooperate with the magnets to maintain the protective cover in a respective one of the stored and display positions.
However, in the same field of display cover, Kruger teaches a cover 104 that includes magnets to mate with the front housing 108 of the display device. See Fig. 1A, and para [0054], “In some such embodiments, the end portion of cover 104 can include any suitable magnets such that the end portion of cover 104 magnetically attached to a top portion of back portion 110. In some embodiments, the magnets at the end portion of cover 104 can attach to a top portion of back portion 110 (e.g., to maintain cover 104 in a closed position that protects display 102 of device 100)”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tam’s cover 2 with magnets to mate with the housing of the lower scoreboard 4 to achieve a more secure and stronger closing force between the cover and the housing.
Regarding claim 17, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 16, wherein the magnet disposed on the cover mates with housing of the display but fails to expressly teach wherein the mating components are ferrous bodies.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a ferrous material for the housing of the scoreboard to enable magnetic engagement with the magnet of the cover. Selecting a ferrous material for the housing is nothing more than a predictable choice of common knowledge and a routine design choice to achieve the expected functional result of magnetic engagement between the cover and the housing.
Regarding claim 18, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 16 wherein a corresponding one of the magnets and the mating components of the protective cover are supported in receptacles in the planar body as not to protrude beyond either the first or second side of the planar body (Fig. 1A, shows the cover 104 is flat without protrusions. The magnets are recevied by the receptacles located within the cover).
Regarding claim 19, Tam in view of Kruger teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 18 but fails to expressly teach wherein a set of the corresponding one of the magnets and the mating components carried by the planar body are arranged to be covered on the first side by the indicia.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to relocate the indicia on the Tam’s cover 2 so that it overlays or covers the magnets disposed within the enclosure of the cover. Shifting the position of the indicia from one location to another location to cover the underlying magnets represents a mere rearrangement of parts that involves only routine skill in the art and yield no unexpected results. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 20, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 18 wherein a set of the corresponding one of the magnets and the mating components carried by the planar body are disposed at a peripheral edge of the planar body (Fig. 3, para [0054], “In some such embodiments, the end portion of cover 104 can include any suitable magnets such that the end portion of cover 104 magnetically attached to a top portion of back portion 110.”. The magnets are disposed at the edge of the cover 104 to mate with the top of the display housing 110 as shown in Fig. 3), and portions of the peripheral edge along the mating components are thickened between the first and second sides (Fig. 5 and Fig. 9 show the top edge of the display is thickened adjacent to the lower recessed portion 510).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tam’s lower scoreboard 4 with a thickened top edge as taught by Kruger to improve user grip and handling of the scoreboard.
Additionally, selecting a thickened peripheral edge represents a design choice that yields no unexpected result.
Regarding claim 23, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 18 wherein a set of the corresponding one of the magnets and the mating components carried by the planar body are disposed at inwardly spaced positions from a peripheral edge of the planar body (Fig. 3, and para [0054], the magnets are disposed with the edge of the cover to mate with the front portion of the display housing), wherein said set is recessed from the second side of the planar body (para [0054],the magnets are disposed within the cover), and a corresponding set of corresponding ones of the magnets and the mating components of the housing cooperative with said set of the protective cover are supported on the front of the housing to protrude from a surface thereof (Fig. 1B, the screws are protruded from a surface of the display housing), such that upon magnetic interaction the planar body is disposed in flush butting engagement with the front of the housing (Fig. 3 shows the cover mates with the housing of the display.).
Claims 21-22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tam (Pub. No.: US 2012/0256373 A1) in view of Kruger (Pub. No.: US 2024/0198177 A1) as applied to claim 16 and further in view of Kim (Pub. No.: US 2014/0159839 A1).
Regarding claim 21, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 20 wherein the receptacles supporting said set of the corresponding one of the magnets and the mating components carried by the planar body and disposed at the peripheral edge (Fig. 3, para [0054], “In some such embodiments, the end portion of cover 104 can include any suitable magnets such that the end portion of cover 104 magnetically attached to a top portion of back portion 110.”. The magnets are disposed at the edge of the cover 104 to mate with the top of the display housing 110 as shown in Fig. 3) and surrounding portions of the planar body around full perimeters of respective ones of said set of the magnets and the mating components are thickened between the first and second sides (Fig. 5 and Fig. 9 show the top edge of the display is thickened adjacent to the lower recessed portion 510).
The Kruger in the combination fails to teach the magnets are disposed in the form of slots opening at the peripheral edge and extending inwardly therefrom.
However, in the same field of display cover, Kim teaches the magnets are disposed in the form of slots opening at the peripheral edge and extending inwardly therefrom (Fig. 5 – Fig. 6, the magnets 165, 175 are disposed in the slots within cover 110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tam in view of Kruger’s cover with internal slots to properly secure the magnets.
Regarding claim 22, Kruger in the combination teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 20 wherein a corresponding set of the magnets and the mating components of the housing that is cooperative with the set of the magnets and the mating components received in the receptacles (Fig. 3, and para [0054], the magnets are disposed within the cover to mate with the front portion of the display housing) in the front of the housing sized and shaped to receive the thickened surrounding portions of the protective cover (Fig. 3, the cover 104 is sized and shaped to cover the thickened top edge of the display 110), such that upon magnetic interaction the planar body is disposed in flush butting engagement with the front of the housing (Fig. 3).
The Kruger in the combination fails to teach the magnets are disposed in the form of slots in the planar body are received in recesses.
However, in the same field of display cover, Kim teaches the magnets are disposed in the form of slots in the planar body are received in recesses.
(Fig. 5 – Fig. 6, the magnets 165, 175 are disposed in the slots recessed within cover 110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tam in view of Kruger’s cover with internal slots to properly secure the magnets.
Regarding claim 24, Tam in view of Kruger teaches the portable scoreboard of claim 16 wherein Tam’s cover is modified with Kruger’s cover with magnets to mate with the lower scoreboard but fails to expressly teach wherein the magnets and the mating components comprise distinct cooperative sets of the magnets and the mating components for the stored and display positions.
However, in the same field of display cover, Kim teaches a top and bottom magnets 165 and 175 are configured to mate with the corresponding support parts 160 and 170. See Fig. 5 and para [0088], “In this case, the cover fastening support parts 160 and 170 may be fabricated in the form of corner holder into which the corners of the cover portion can be inserted. Furthermore, the cover portion can be made to come more tightly into contact with the portable device by incorporating magnets inside the cover fastening support parts 160 and 170 and also incorporating cover fastening magnets 165 and 175 in the corresponding portions of the cover portion.”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tam in view of Kruger’s cover with top and bottom magnets and the lower scoreboard with corresponding top and bottom support parts as taught by Kim to easily align the cover to the lower scoreboard.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHEN Y WU whose telephone number is (571)272-5711. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10AM-6PM, EST.
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/ZHEN Y WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
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