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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-11 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 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, 3, and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (JP 6710832) and Sinclair (US pub No. 2009/0108989).
Regarding claim 1, Suzuki teaches a remote-control actuator for actuating a remote-control, the remote-control actuator (See [0009]) comprising:
a controller for receiving at least one control signal (See [0035], [0037], and [0039] teach a control circuit for receiving and transmitting signals to the solenoids);
a frame (See [0074] teaches a holder for accommodating an electronic key);
a first arm and a second arm pivotably hinged to the frame and extending in a first direction (See Fig. 3, Fig. 10, [0026] and [0072] teach plungers and cantilevers that act as the claimed arms.);
Suzuki does not teach an actuator that is operable by the controller upon receipt of the at least one control signal to individually tilt the first arm and the second arm to depress a first button and a second button of the remote-control respectively
Sinclair teaches an actuator that is operable by the controller upon receipt of the at least one control signal to individually tilt the first arm and the second arm to depress a first button and a second button of the remote-control respectively (See [0127] teaches a solenoid drive actuator for both pivotable rigid supports.).
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed would have been motivated to modify Suzuki’s device to include Sinclair’s teachings for “an arrangement which affords convenience of use” ([0001]). Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made.
Regarding claim 3, Suzuki teaches each of the first arm and the second arm includes at least one laterally extending portion, wherein the at least one laterally extending portion of the first arm and the second arm are interspersed such that they are aligned along an axis (See Fig. 3 and Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 12, Suzuki teaches a stud releasably attached to each of the first arm and the second arm for actuating the button of the remote-control (See Fig. 3&4, 1313a - screw and [0026] teach a stud attached by a screw).
Regarding claim 13, Suzuki teaches the stud is releasably attached to the respective arm using a reclosable fastener (See Fig. 3&4, 1313a - screw and [0026] teach a stud attached by a screw).
Regarding claim 14, Suzuki teaches a housing for receiving the frame, the housing having a slot through which the position of the frame within the housing may be adjusted (See Fig. 3 & 10).
Regarding claim 15, Suzuki teaches at least one control signal comprises a wireless data signal (See [0047] and [0050]).
Regarding claim 16, Suzuki teaches the wireless data signal is one of a Bluetooth, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a Zigbee, a Wi-fi, and a Short Messaging Service (SMS) data signal (See [0047] and [0050]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS S MCCORMACK whose telephone number is (571)272-0841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Zimmerman can be reached at (571) 272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS S MCCORMACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
