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 .
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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: lock rod 11 from ¶ 41-42. 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. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In ¶ 35 “connecting plate 221” should likely read “coupling plate 221”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 1, line 3 “the other end” should likely read “an other end”.
In Claim 6, line 5 “the top surface” should likely read “a top surface”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 2-14 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 2 fails to list the claim from which it depends. Therefore this claim is unclear. For purposes of examination Claim 2 will be interpreted as depending from Claim 1.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “a top end” in line 6. This limitation is unclear because it is unclear if the top end of line 6 is either one of “one end” or “an other end” from Claim 1, or a different end of the rotating shaft.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bolden et al (US 3827671) in view of Hudson et al (US 5758684).
Regarding Claim 1, Bolden et al disclose a self-closing double-opening lock (Figure 1 generally with self closing spring 96 and locks 86). The lock comprising a rotating shaft (18), a reset spring (96; Col 5, lines 45-49) and a hand-opening head (80), one end of the rotating shaft is fixed with a lock head (68), and the other end of the rotating shaft is coaxially connected with the hand-opening head (80) after passing through a support seat (78 shown in Figure 4); the reset spring (96) is sleeved outside the rotating shaft (Figure 1) and is able to realize the reset of the rotating shaft (Col 5, lines 45-49) by an elastic force (Col 5, lines 45-49), but fails to expressly disclose where wherein the rotating shaft is drivable by a motor to rotate.
Hudson et al teach a rotary valve (Figure 11; with Figure 6 showing the components of the modular actuator) with a rotating shaft (536), and hand operating head (585) and wherein the rotating shaft is drivable by a motor (112 shown in Figure 6 as incorporated in the valve actuator of Figure 11) to rotate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus of Bolden et al with the motor as taught by Hudson et al for the advantage of combining prior art elements according to known methods (using a motor to rotate a rotating shaft) to yield predictable results (to rotate the shaft).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 NICOLE GARDNER whose telephone number is (571)270-0144. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8AM-4PM EST.
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/NICOLE GARDNER/
Examiner, Art Unit 3753