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 Interpretation
Claims 19 and 20 include language that does not limit their scope. Claims 19-20 are method claims. The scope of a method claim is not limited by language that “expresses the intended result of a process step positively recited.” MPEP 2111.04(I). Claim 19 recites “pushing the locking member from the locked state to the unlocked state to cause the locking part of the locking member to release the side plate.” The italicized language describes what is intended to occur as a result of the “pushing” step. As such this language is not given patentable weight. See below for a discussion of why these claims, which mix statutory categories of invention, are also indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 19 recites steps for operating the apparatus that is recited in claim 1. These steps include “pushing” the locking member, “rotating” the side plate, and “returning” the locking member. These steps appear to be nothing more than instructions on how to use the foldable camera mount, and all steps in this claim are activities that are performed by a person using the mount. The claim therefore recites an abstract idea that falls under the “methods of organizing human activity” category of abstract ideas. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II). Claim 20 includes further steps that amount to instructions for a person to follow to use the foldable camera mount.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims include no limitations that fall outside of the abstract idea. While the claim is drawn to method for using a particular device, the structure of this device does not limit the method to which claims 19 and 20 are drawn. Lacking any limitations beyond the abstract idea, the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. Similarly, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, because no additional elements are present.
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 4-8, 10-16, and 19-20 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 4 recites the phrase “rotation connecting part.” This lacks antecedent basis. It will be assumed that this is intended to refer to the “rotating connection part” that was previously introduced in the claim. Claims 10-16 depends from claim 4 and inherit this issue.
Claim 5 recites “a retaining member configured for maintaining the side plate being overlapped on the base plate.” It is not clear what the scope of the term “overlapped” is in this claim; does this require that the foldable mount be fully closed, or only partially? Because the claim does not make this clear, the scope of the claim is indefinite. Claim 5 also recites “blocking the side plate from moving from a folded position to an unfolded position randomly.” It is not clear what the bounds are of the language “moving … randomly” because what would and would not be considered “random” movement is not made clear. It is therefore unclear what structure this claim requires. Claims 6-8 depend from claim 5 and inherit this indefiniteness.
Claim 11 recites “the stop surface is steeper than the guide surface.” It is not clear what is required by the language requiring that one surface is “steeper” than another. The claim does not describe which axis the stop surface is steeper relative to. Referring to Fig. 3, it would appear that either surface could be considered to be “steeper” than the other, depending on the axis from which this steepness is measured.
Claim 19 is drawn to a “method for operating the foldable mounting device according to claim 1.” The applicant identifies claim 19 as a dependent claim. See the 02/14/2025 fee worksheet, which identifies only one independent claim, which clearly refers to claim 1. A dependent claim inherits all limitations of the claim from which it depends. 35 U.S.C. §112(d). Therefore claim 19, apparently drawn to a method, inherits all structural limitations from apparatus claim 1. It is unclear which statutory category of invention this claim is drawn to. While MPEP 608.01(n)(III) describes various scenarios in which a dependent claim may properly be drawn to a different category of invention that the claim from which it depends, claims 19 and 20 do not fit these scenarios.
Claims 19-20 are additionally indefinite because they recite both an apparatus and a method of using that apparatus in the same claim. See MPEP 2173.05(p)(II) for a discussion of why this type of claim is indefinite.
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 1-4, 9-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang, CN 213452491 in view of Lin, US 4,877,045. Reference to Huang below is made to the English translation that is provided with this Office action.
Claim 1: Huang discloses a foldable mounting device applicable for a photographing device (This preamble describes an intended use of the apparatus, thus does not appear to limit the claim. See MPEP 2111.02(II). In case this preamble is found to limit the claim, this is taught by Huang. See Abstract), the foldable mounting device comprising:
a base plate (Fig. 1: bottom plate 10) comprising a connecting end (Fig. 1: 12) which comprises an accommodation slot (Fig. 2: 121) and a connecting opening in communication with the accommodation slot (Fig. 2: 123 and 124), the accommodation slot comprising a slot opening which passes through a side of the base plate (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2);
a side plate connected to the connecting end of the base plate (Fig. 1: side plate 20. See also pg. 3.); and
a locking member slidably received in the accommodation slot (Fig. 2: locking screw 32), the locking member comprising a locking part and an operation part (Fig. 2), the operation part being received in the slot opening and exposed from the side of the base plate (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3).
Huang does not disclose that the locking member is operatable via the operation part to move from a locked state in which the locking part passes through the connecting opening to engage with the side plate such that the side plate is locked and nonrotatable relative to the base plate to an unlocked state in which the locking part is disengaged from the side plate such that the side plate is rotatable relative to the base plate.
Lin discloses a locking member (Fig. 1: locking piece 3) that is operatable via an operation part (Fig. 1: 34) to move from a locked state in which the locking part passes through a connecting opening (Fig. 1: through slot 26) to engage with a side member (Fig. 1: 10) such that the side plate is locked and nonrotatable relative to a base member to an unlocked state in which the locking part is disengaged from the side member such that the side member is rotatable relative to the base member (see 1:65-2:62).
It would have been obvious to a skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with teachings found in Lin. The motivation for this modification would have been to provide a simple way to enable Huang’s mount to be rotated into a selective position. See Lin at 1:8-29. While relating to a rotating structure on a shade umbrella rather than a camera mount, Lin is analogous art because it is at least reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by the inventor1. See MPEP 2141.01(a)(I). Lin is also from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention, namely that of rotation structures. See id.
Claim 2: Huang-Lin discloses that the foldable mounting device further comprises a restoring member which is connected between the locking member and the base plate and configured to return the locking member from the unlocked state to the locked state (Lin Fig. 1).
Claim 3: Huang-Lin fails to disclose that the restoring member is a C-shaped elastic plate arranged between an end wall of the accommodation slot and an end of the locking part. But official notice is taken that this type of restoring member was well known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to the POSITA to use a C-shaped elastic plate in place of Lin’s spring, the rationale being to reduce cost and/or simplify manufacture.
Claim 4: Huang-Lin discloses that uanHjkl;adfsjlk;asdf
the connecting end of the side plate further comprises a receiving space in communication with the connecting opening (Huang Fig. 1); the side plate comprises a rotating connection part rotatably received in the receiving space (Huang Fig. 1); and the rotation connecting part comprises at least one positioning opening for engaging with the locking part when the locking member is located in the locked state (Lin Fig. 1).
Claim 9: Huang-Lin discloses that the side plate comprises a first pair of wings formed on opposite sides of one surface thereof and a second pair of wings formed on opposite sides of another surface thereof such that a holding device of the photographic equipment can selectively engage with the first pair of wings or the second pair of wings (Huang Fig. 4: 28 and 29).
Claim 10: Huang-Lin discloses that the locking member further comprises a body which comprises at least one biasing surface and at least one recess formed at a side thereof facing the side plate, the at least one recess comprising a guide surface and a stop surface opposite to the guide surface; the locking part comprises at least one sliding component which is movably received in the connecting opening and disposed between the side plate and the body of the locking member; when the locking member is located in the locked state the at least one sliding component is compressed between the side plate and the at least one biasing surface; and when the locking member is located in the unlocked state the at least one sliding component slides into the at least one recess along the guide surface to disengage from the side plate (Lin Fig. 1-3 discloses each structural item recited in this claim. Lin shows a guide surface and stop surface in Fig. 3. A sliding component, locking piece 3, is movably received in the opening between arms of the structure – that is, between plates in the Huang-Lin device. When locked, the locking piece 3 is compressed between plates by the mechanism shown in Lin Fig. 3, and is disengaged when pressed).
Claim 11: Huang-Lin discloses that 11 the guide surface is longer than the stop surface; or the stop surface is steeper than the guide surface (Lin Fig. 1 and 2).
Claim 12: Huang-Lin discloses that the at least one positioning opening comprises multiple positioning holes distributed at interval in a rotation direction of the side plate; or the at least one positioning opening comprises multiple positioning slots in communication with each other (Lin Fig. 1-3).
Claim 14: Huang-Lin discloses that the at least one positioning opening comprises at least one first positioning opening and at least one second positioning opening (Lin Fig. 1A: grooves 14); when the locking part is engaged in the at least one first positioning opening (Lin Fig. 3), the side plate is located in a folded state in which the side plate is folded on the base plate (Huang Fig. 5); and when the locking part is engaged in the at least one second positioning opening, the side plate is located in an unfolded state in which a preset angle is formed between the side plate and the base plate (Huang Fig. 1-4, Lin Fig. 1-3).
Claim 15: Huang-Lin discloses that the connecting end of the base plate further comprises a pair of first connecting parts located at opposite sides of the receiving space (Huang Fig. 1: 122); the receiving space is spaced from the accommodation slot in a length direction of the base plate (Huang Fig. 1); the connecting opening communicates the receiving space with the accommodation slot (Huang Fig. 1); the locking member is slidable in the accommodation slot in a width direction of the base plate which is perpendicular to the length direction (Huang Fig. 1); and the rotation connecting part and the first connecting parts define aligned holes (Huang Fig. 1: 126 and 220), and a shaft is received in the aligned holes to thereby pivotably connect the rotation connecting part to the first connecting parts (Huang Fig. 1: 21).
Claim 16: Huang-Lin discloses that the locking part is movable in the connecting opening in the length direction; or the locking part is movable in the connecting opening in the width direction (Huang Fig. 1; Lin Fig. 1-3).
Claim 17: Huang-Lin discloses that the locking member further comprises an elongated body, the operation part is located at an end of the elongated body opposite to the restoring member, and a step is formed at a joint between the operation part and the elongated body; a stop wall is formed at a joint between the accommodation slot and the slot opening for limiting an inwardly moving range of the operation part; and a limiting structure is formed between the elongated body and the accommodation slot for limiting an outwardly moving range of the operation part (Lin Fig 1-3).
Claim 18: Huang-Lin discloses that the base plate further comprises a battery receiving chamber formed at an end thereof opposite to the connecting end, and the battery receiving chamber comprises a sidewall which acts as a handle (Huang pg. 3-4 – bottom plate 10 includes the claimed battery chamber. The POSITA would understand that the walls of this chamber act as a handle, as claimed).
Claims 19 and 20: Huang-Lin discloses pushing the locking member from the locked state to the unlocked state to cause the locking part of the locking member to release the side plate; rotating the side plate relative to the base plate to a predetermined position; and returning the locking member from the unlocked state to the locked state; and (claim 20) mounting the photographing device on the base plate; and securing a holding device of the photographing device with the side plate. (See discussion of Lin Fig. 1-3 and Huang, generally. See also the rejections of these claims under §§ 101 and 112(b) above).
Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang, Lin, and Zhou, CN 202223260587.
Examiner’s Note: the features that are recited in the claims below first appeared in the filing of the PCT application PCT/CN2023/111295. These claims are therefore given the priority date of 08/04/2023. The Zhou reference that is relied upon in these rejection was published before this date, thus is available as prior art under §102(a)(1). Due to the presence of the inventor Zhou, who is not named as an inventor in the current application, this reference does not qualify for the prior art exception of §102(b)(1)(A).
Claim 5: Huang-Lin does not disclose, but Zhou discloses, a retaining member configured for maintaining the side plate being overlapped on the base plate and blocking the side plate from moving from a folded position to an unfolded position randomly (Zhou Figures 3-7 and their description show a hook member, or retaining member, that holds the mount in a folded position). See also the §112(b) rejection of this claim above.
It would have been obvious to a skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang-Lin with teachings found in Zhou, the rationale being to ensure that the mount does not open when the user does not wish it to.
Claim 6 Huang-Lin-Zhou discloses that a free end of the side plate comprises a locking rod; the retaining member comprises a hook member and an engaging member which are both movably connected to the base plate; the hook member comprises a hook groove with a groove opening, the hook member being moveable between an initial position and a holding position; when the engaging member engages with the hook member to maintain the hook member in the initial position, the side plate can be rotated to cause the locking rod to enter in the hook groove from the groove opening of the hook groove; and after the engaging member releases the hook member to allow the hook member to move to the holding position, the groove opening of the second groove is offset from the locking rod, whereby the locking rod being locked in the hook groove (See Zhou Figs. 1-7 and their description, which depict a locking structure that corresponds to these claim limitations and their discussion in the specification).
Claim 7: Huang-Lin-Zhou discloses that the base plate comprises a first receiving slot and a second receiving slot defined in a bottom surface thereof, the first receiving slot and the second receiving slot being in communication with each other; the hook member is slidably received in the first receiving slot, and the engaging member is slidably received in the second receiving slot; one end of the hook member is located outside the base plate for facilitating operation; and the sliding directions of the hook member and the engaging member are different from each other (Zhou Figs. 3-7).
Claim 8: Huang-Lin-Zhou discloses that the hook member comprises a positioning opening defined at a side thereof facing the engaging member; the side plate comprises a pushing part, and the base plate comprises a third receiving slot communicating with the first receiving slot and the second receiving slot; when the hook member is in the initial position, the engaging member partially extends into the third receiving slot and an end of the engaging member is engaged in the positioning opening; and when the locking rod enters the hook groove, the pushing part enters the third receiving slot to push the engaging member to move in a direction away from the hook member such that the end of the engaging member is disengaged from the positioning opening (Zhou Fig. 2-7 and their description).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang, Lin, and Li, CN 105197861.
Claim 13: Huang-Lin fails to disclose, but Li discloses that a locking part comprises at least one ball and the at least one positioning opening comprises multiple positioning holes each of which has a shape matching with the at least one ball (Li Fig. 3 and its description).
It would have been obvious to a skilled artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang-Lin with teachings found in Li, the rationale being to reduce cost and complexity.
Conclusion
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/ROBERT J HANCE/ Reexamination Specialist, Art Unit 3992
1 See Spec. ¶2 for a discussion of the problem faced by the inventor, which is that of inconvenience in some existing rotation structures.
Prosecution Insights