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 .
This document is responsive to applicant’s claims filed 3/28/2025.
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 leader guide located adjacent the outer lip as found in claim 6 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
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, 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mead (US 1,635,378).
Regarding claim 1, Mead discloses:
An organizer for storing a plurality of fishing leaders, comprising: a base (see fig 2, ref 1) having an internal storage space; a plurality of spools (see fig 1, refs 14-16) removably received within the internal storage space and each configured to receive a different one of the plurality of fishing leaders; and a winding location (12) positioned external to the base and configured to removably receive at least one of the plurality of spools.
Regarding claim 2, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 1, further including a lid configured to engage the base and move between an open position at which the plurality of spools are accessible and a closed position at which the plurality of spools are secured in the base (see figs 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 5, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 1, wherein the winding location includes: a generally planar flange; and an annular lip that surrounds the generally planar flange and extends axially away from the generally planar flange (see figs 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 9, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 8, further including a mid-wall axially dividing the internal storage space into multiple sections (see fig 1).
Regarding claim 11, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 1, wherein: each of the plurality of spools is disk-like; and the spools of the plurality of spools are stacked axially end-to-end within the internal storage space (see fig 1).
Regarding claim 13, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of spools includes a finger hole to allow manual winding after latching at the winding location (12’ is a central bore).
Regarding claim 14, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of spools includes: at least one flange; and an annular surface extending axially from a face of the at least one flange (see figs 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 17, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of spools also includes at least one clocking feature configured to retain a desired clocking orientation relative to an adjacent spool (the spools are fused together and therefore have a fixed relative clocking).
Claim(s) 3, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Mead (US 1,635,378).
Regarding claim 3, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 2, wherein the winding location is formed integral to the lid (portion of the lid 22 is considered part of the winding system and is integral to the lid). Alternatively, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to locate the winding system completely integral with the lid, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 4, Mead discloses:
The organizer of claim 3, wherein: the lid includes an elongated half-pipe shape (as best shown at the left side of fig 1, the lid is a half-pipe shape); and the winding location is positioned at an external axial end of the lid (see fig 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, and 19 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.
Claim 20 is allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is found in the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD G DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 8am-6:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Collins can be reached on 571-272-6886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD G DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3644