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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
(Claim 1 line 3) “space, is characterized” may be “space, characterized”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 1-20 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.
Regarding Claims 1-2 and 6-7, the claim recites “an annular frame body” and mentions “the frame body” through the rest of the claim 1 and claims 2, 6-7. It is unclear if they are referencing the same “annular frame body”. For purposes of examination, the examiner is interpreting the “frame body” in these claims to be “the annular frame body”
Regarding claim 8, the claim recites “the bag body is divided into a narrow-diameter section and a wide-diameter section based on an inner diameter size”. It is unclear what inner diameter size of the bag body the narrow and wide diameter sections are being compared to. For purposes of examination “the bag body is divided into a narrow-diameter section and a wide-diameter section based on an inner diameter size” is “the bag body is divided into a narrow-diameter section and a wide-diameter section”.
Claim 8 recites the limitation " the bottom end " and "the bottom region" in lines 2 and 5 respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 19, the claim recites “wherein the openable and closable device is a zipper”. Parent claim 8 mention an openable device. It is unclear whether this is in reference to the “openable device” or is calling a different openable and closable device. For purposes of examination the claim is interpreted to say “wherein the openable device is a zipper”.
Regarding claim 20, the claim recites “with an adjustable fastening strap, the fastening strap being configured”. It is unclear whether this “adjustable fastening strap” is the same as the “fastening strap” or is calling a different fastening strap. For purposes of examination the claim is interpreted to say “with an adjustable fastening strap, the adjustable fastening strap being configured”.
Claim 20 recites the limitation "the extended side" in lines 3-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 20, the claim recites “characterized in that: the top of the bag body is provided with an openable top frame,”. It is unclear whether this is the same top frame as the open top frame mentioned in the preamble” or it is calling a different top frame. For purposes of examination the claim is interpreted to say “characterized in that: the top of the bag body is provided with the openable top frame,”.
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 1-2, and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 6435345 issued to Wang (Here forth “Wang”) in view of Foreign Publication CN203208623 by Duan (Here forth “Duan”).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses an [Not taught: openable] top frame, disposed at the top of a golf bag and having an annular frame body, wherein a central area of the frame body includes at least one hole for communicating an internal area of the golf bag with an external space, is characterized in that: the frame body is provided with an opening through which a golf club can pass into the hole (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Wang below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Wang
Wang does not expressly disclose wherein the top frame is openable.
Duan discloses wherein the top frame is openable (Fig 1-3 of Duan below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Duan
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have the top frame be openable, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening of the opening diameter required by the user to make assembly and tightening of top frame to the bag easier.
Regarding claim 2, Wang does not expressly disclose wherein the frame containing a telescopic adjustment device with telescopic portions.
Duan discloses a similar top frame that teaches wherein the frame body is further provided with a telescopic adjustment device and a telescopic component slot, the telescopic adjustment device being configured to control opening and closing states of the opening, the telescopic adjustment device including a telescopic portion and an adjustment portion, the telescopic portion being disposed within the telescopic component slot and moveable at the opening, the adjustment portion being connected to the telescopic portion and controlling a displacement state of the telescopic portion, and a portion of a structure of the adjustment portion being exposed outside of the frame body (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Duan above).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the top frame of Wang to include a telescopic adjustment device, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening to the opening diameter required by the user.
Regarding claim 5, Wang does not expressly disclose a foldable adjustment device attached to the frame with a movable portion
Duan discloses wherein the frame is further provided with a foldable adjustment device configured to control the opening and closing state of the opening, the foldable adjustment device including a movable portion movably connected to the frame, wherein when the opening is in the open state, the movable portion is folded onto the frame, and when the opening is in a closed state, the movable portion covers the opening (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Duan below, the opening is in the open state unless opening 2 contacts locking pin, so when opening 1 contacts the locking pin when movable portion is folded into the frame, it is still in the open state, when opening 2 contacts locking pin it is in the closed state and covers the opening portion shown; the foldable adjustment device further includes a locking device disposed respectively on the movable portion and the frame and used in conjunction, the locking device being configured to fix the relative position between the movable portion and the frame; wherein the movable portion is a movable handle, and the movable handle is connected to the frame body via a pin shaft).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Duan
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the top frame of Wang to include a foldable adjustment device, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening and secure the opening diameter required by the user.
Regarding claim 6, Wang as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the foldable adjustment device further includes a locking device disposed respectively on the movable portion and the frame and used in conjunction, the locking device being configured to fix the relative position between the movable portion and the frame; wherein the movable portion is a movable handle, and the movable handle is connected to the frame body via a pin shaft (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 5; Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Duan above).
Regarding claim 7, Wang as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the locking device comprises a male fastener provided on the movable portion and a female fastener provided on the frame body.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the application was filed to have the male fastener provided on the movable portion and a female fastener provided on the frame body instead of vis vera, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation.
Claims 8-11,13 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of US Publication 2020/0101358 by Goulden (Here forth “Goulden”), Duan and Foreign Publication CN106730698 by Chen (Here forth “Chen”) and Foreign Publication EP1201272 by Chou (Here forth “Chou”).
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses a golf bag with an openable top frame, comprising a bag body and a base, wherein the base is disposed at the bottom end of the bag body (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Wang above), [Not taught: the bag body is divided into a narrow-diameter section and a wide-diameter section based on an inner diameter size, the narrow-diameter section is located at top and middle regions of the bag body, and the wide-diameter section is located at the bottom region of the bag body, the bag body has a shape with a narrow top and wide bottom forming a b-shaped, the bag body further comprises an openable device configured to control communication between an internal region of the bag body and external space, the openable device is disposed on one side of the bag body and extends from a top to a bottom of the bag body], characterized in that: the top of the bag body is provided with an [Not taught: openable] top frame (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Wang above), a central area of the top frame has at least one hole configured to communicate the internal region of the golf bag with the external space (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Wang above), and [Not taught: the frame is provided with an opening that is located on the same side of the bag body as the openable device and positioned above the openable device].
Wang does not expressly disclose that the bag body has a narrow diameter section, wide-diameter sections.
Goulden discloses a similar gold bag that teaches wherein the bag body is divided into a narrow-diameter section and a wide-diameter section based on an inner diameter size, the narrow-diameter section is located at top and middle regions of the bag body, and the wide-diameter section is located at the bottom region of the bag body, the bag body has a shape with a narrow top and wide bottom forming a b-shaped (Examiner Annotated Fig 1 of Goulden below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 1 of Goulden
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Goulden before them, when the application was filed, to have the shape of the modified golf bag of Wang be B-shaped with the top and middle portions being narrower than the bottom, as taught by Goulden, to advantageously make the bog difficult to knock over.
Duan discloses wherein there is an openable top frame (Fig 1-3 of Duan).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have the top frame of the modified Wang be openable, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening to the opening diameter required by the user to make assembly of the top frame to the bag easy.
Wang as modified does not expressly disclose that the top frame opening is provided on the same side of the bad body as the openable device of the bag body.
Chen discloses a similar golf bag that teaches the bag body further comprises an openable device configured to control communication between an internal region of the bag body and external space, the openable device is disposed on one side of the bag body and [Not taught: extends from a top to a bottom of the bag body].
the top frame provided with an opening that is located on the same side of the bag body as the openable device of the bag body and positioned above the openable device (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Chen below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Chen
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the application was filed to have the top frame provided with an opening that is located on the same side of the bag body as the openable device of the bag body and positioned above the openable device, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation.
Wang as modified does not expressly disclose that the openable device extends from a top to a bottom of the bag body.
Chou discloses a similar golf bag wherein the openable device is disposed on one side of the bag body and extends from a top to a bottom of the bag body (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Chou).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Chou
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 device to be a zipper. Such a modification only changes the fastener type which provides no change in function (see MPEP 2144.04 III). Further Applicant has not disclosed criticality for the claimed fastener.
Regarding claim 9, Wang further discloses wherein a side of openable top frame that is opposite to the opening is connected to a support leg via a pin shaft (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang below), the support leg is driven to open and close by a linkage mechanism (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang below), the base is a movable base, with a lower end of the linkage mechanism connected to the movable base and an upper end of the linkage mechanism hooked onto the support leg (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang of Wang below) , when the support leg is in a closing state, the linkage mechanism drives the movable base to move towards the bottom end of the bag body such that the bag body stands vertically on the ground with the support of the movable base (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang below), and when the support leg is in an open state, the linkage mechanism drives the movable base to move towards the top end of the bag body such that the bag body stands diagonally on the ground with the support of both the base and the support leg (Examiner Annotated Fig 4B of Wang below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang
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Examiner Annotated Fig 4B of Wang
Regarding claim 10, Wang further discloses wherein the movable base includes a fixed layer and a movable layer (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang above), the fixed layer is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the bag body (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang above), the movable layer is connected to the fixed layer via a pin shaft, a lower end of the linkage mechanism is connected to the movable layer of the movable base (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang above), when the support leg is in a closed state, the linkage mechanism drives the movable layer to move towards the bottom end of the bag body such that the bag body stands vertically on the ground with the support of the movable base (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang above), and when the support leg is in an open state, the linkage mechanism drives the movable layer to move toward the top end of the bag body such that the bag body stands diagonally on the ground with the support of both the movable base and the support leg (Examiner Annotated Fig 4A of Wang above).
Regarding claim 11, Wang further discloses wherein the support legs are two in number (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Wang below), the linkage mechanism is a U-shaped steel wire, two upward ends of the U- shaped steel wire are connected to the two support legs (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Wang below), and a closed side of the downward-facing U-shaped steel wire is connected to the movable base (Examiner Annotated Fig 4B of Wang below, the wire is attached to the fixed base which is attached to the movable base so the wire is also attached to the movable base).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 4B of Wang
Regarding claim 13, Wang does not expressly disclose wherein the frame containing a telescopic adjustment device with telescopic portions.
Duan discloses a similar top frame that teaches wherein the frame body is further provided with a telescopic adjustment device and a telescopic component slot, the telescopic adjustment device being used to control the opening and closing state of the opening, and including a telescopic portion and an adjustment portion, the telescopic portion being located within the telescopic component slot and configured to move at the opening, the adjustment portion being connected to the telescopic portion and controlling the displacement state of the telescopic portion, with a part of the structure of the adjustment portion being exposed on the outside of the frame body (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Duan above).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the top frame of Wang to include a telescopic adjustment device, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening to the opening diameter required by the user.
Regarding claim 16, Wang as modified does not expressly disclose a foldable adjustment device attached to the frame with a movable portion
Duan discloses wherein the frame is further provided with a foldable adjustment device configured to control the opening and closing state of the opening, the foldable adjustment device including a movable portion movably connected to the frame, wherein when the opening is in the open state, the movable portion is folded onto the frame, and when the opening is in a closed state, the movable portion covers the opening (Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Duan above, the opening is in the open state unless opening 2 contacts locking pin, so when opening 1 contacts the locking pin when movable portion is folded into the frame, it is still in the open state, when opening 2 contacts locking pin it is in the closed state and covers the opening portion shown; the foldable adjustment device further includes a locking device disposed respectively on the movable portion and the frame and used in conjunction, the locking device being configured to fix the relative position between the movable portion and the frame; wherein the movable portion is a movable handle, and the movable handle is connected to the frame body via a pin shaft).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Duan before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the top frame of Wang to include a foldable adjustment device, as taught by Duan, to advantageously adjust the opening and secure the opening diameter required by the user.
Regarding claim 17, Wang as modified includes all of the limitations including wherein the foldable adjustment device further includes a locking device, the locking device being respectively provided on the movable portion and the frame body and used in conjunction, the locking device being configured to fix the relative position between the movable portion and the frame body, wherein the movable portion is a movable handle, and the movable handle is connected to the frame body via a pin shaft (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 16; Examiner Annotated Fig 3 of Duan above).
Regarding claim 18, Wang as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the locking device comprises a male fastener provided on the movable portion and a female fastener provided on the frame body.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the application was filed to have the male fastener provided on the movable portion and a female fastener provided on the frame body instead of vis vera, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Please note that in the instant application, the Applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitation.
Regarding claim 19, Wang as modified discloses that the openable device is a zipper (See the detailed description of the rejection of claim 8, Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Chou above)
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Goulden, Duan, Chen, and Chou in view of US Publication 2006/0006086 by Fair (Here forth “Fair”).
Regarding claim 12, Wang does not expressly disclose that the lower end of the linkage mechanism is connected to the movable base via the inner side of the bag body.
Fair discloses a similar bag that teaches wherein the lower end of the linkage mechanism is connected to the movable base via the inner side of the bag body (Examiner Annotated Fig 12 of Fair below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 12 of Fair
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Fair before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the golf bag of Wang to have the linkage mechanism connected to the movable base via the inner side of the bag body, as taught by Fair, to advantageously protect the linkage mechanism from damage from external elements.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang, Goulden, Duan and Chen in view of US Publication 2008/0251399 by Rhee (Here forth “Rhee”).
Regarding claim 20, Wang does not disclose adjustable fastening straps for the support legs
Rhee discloses a similar golf bag that teaches wherein the side of the bag body near the support leg is further provided with an adjustable fastening strap, the fastening strap being configured to limit the movement of the support leg when tightened and covering the extended side of the support leg, and to no longer limit the movement of the support leg when released (Examiner Annotated Fig 1 of Rhee below).
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Examiner Annotated Fig 1 of Rhee
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art having the teachings of Wang as modified and Rhee before them, when the application was filed, to have modified the golf bag of Wang to include an adjustable fastening strap for the leg, as taught by Wang, to advantageously prevent legs from extending during transport.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 14-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 3, Wang as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the telescopic portion is a movable toothed plate having a plurality of teeth, and the adjustment portion is an adjustment gear including a connection end and a rotation control end arranged coaxially, the connection end being a gear engaged with the teeth of the movable toothed plate, and the rotation control end being a rotating wheel that is positioned outside of the frame.
Regarding claim 14, Wang as modified does not expressly disclose wherein the telescopic portion is a movable toothed plate provided with a plurality of teeth, the adjustment portion is an adjustment gear including a connection end and a rotation control end arranged coaxially, the connection end is a gear engaged with the teeth of the movable toothed plate, and the rotation control end is a rotating wheel disposed on the outside of the frame body.
Regarding claim 15, Wang discloses disclose wherein the telescopic portion is a movable locking strip (Examiner Annotated Fig 2 of Duan above),[Not taught: and the adjustment portion includes a spring, a push valve, a locking protrusion, and a locking interface; the spring is sleeved on the outside of the movable locking strip, with the proximal end of the spring abutting against the movable locking strip, and the proximal end of the spring not displacing relative to the movable locking strip, the distal end of the spring abutting against the frame, and the distal end of the spring not displacing relative to the frame; the locking protrusion is provided on the movable locking strip, the locking interface is provided on the frame and corresponds to the position of the locking protrusion, and the push valve is provided on the movable locking strip and extends to the outside of the frame].
Wang as modified does not expressly disclose that the adjustment portion includes a spring, a push valve, a locking protrusion, and a locking interface; the spring is sleeved on the outside of the movable locking strip, with the proximal end of the spring abutting against the movable locking strip, and the proximal end of the spring not displacing relative to the movable locking strip, the distal end of the spring abutting against the frame, and the distal end of the spring not displacing relative to the frame; the locking protrusion is provided on the movable locking strip, the locking interface is provided on the frame and corresponds to the position of the locking protrusion, and the push valve is provided on the movable locking strip and extends to the outside of the frame.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL whose telephone number is (571)272-6655. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-5:00pm.
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/JESSICA KAVINI TAMIL/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/ANDREW T KIRSCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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