DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 4-8, 10, and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by Jacobia, US 1831666.
Regarding claims 1, 10 and 19, Jacobia discloses the claimed device capable of being used as a clasp configured to couple to a necklace at both the first and second ends of the necklace. Jacobia discloses the clasp (figure 1) comprising a housing (5, 6) having an anchor post (7) with a groove to receive the first spring anchor of the spring (12), an actuator with an actuator housing (11) having a housing anchor, an opening (receives the anchor post 7), and a connector interface, which receives the winding of the cord (18). The housing anchor includes a flange (inner circumferential flange) and an aperture (receives the first spring anchor, i.e., rivet or fastener that connects the spring to the flange) extending through the flange. Jacobia discloses a spring (12) comprising a first spring anchor (bent end of spring that attaches to the anchor post (7) and a second spring anchor (fastener/rivet). The second spring anchor extends through the aperture to engage the flange thereby coupling the second spring anchor with the housing anchor (aperture). The actuator housing is received in the housing (5, 6) such that the anchor post (7) is inserted into the opening of the actuator housing and the groove of the anchor post receives the first spring anchor of the spring (figure 3). Jacobia discloses a cord (18) having a first end coupled with the connector interface (spool) of the actuator housing (11) and a second end (19) configured to be pulled away from the clasp. Wherein, when a force is applied to the cord, the cord is configured to be pulled away from the clasp causing the actuator housing to rotate relative to the housing. The clasp is configured to transition from a first configuration to a second configuration, wherein, when used with a necklace, the necklace and the clasp have a first circumference when in the first configuration and the necklace and the clasp have a second circumference when in the second configuration that is greater than the first circumference. Please see the annotated drawing.
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Regarding claims 4-5 and 13-14, as shown in the annotated drawing, Jacobia’s connector interface, i.e., the flanges of the spool portion of the actuator housing, extends annularly on the exterior of the actuator housing for engaging the cord to wind it about the actuator housing (11).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Jacobia discloses a hole disposed at a bottom portion of the housing where the end of the anchor post (7) threadably engages the housing (6).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Jacobia discloses the first spring anchor having a planar surface that is received by a flat interface of the groove in the anchor post (7, figure 3).
Regarding claims 8, and 17-18, Jacobia’s spring (12) applies a force in the retracted and an expanded condition to hold the actuator housing stationary relative to the housing bottom.
Regarding claim 20, Jacobia discloses a clasp capable of being coupled to the first and second end of a bracelet to allow adjustability with the circumference of the necklace.
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, and 8-9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka, JP 2014-204833 A in view of Jacobia, US 1831666. Tanaka discloses a necklace (1) having first and second ends coupled to a clasp having a housing, an actuator, and a cord. The actuator uses a spring to rotate the actuator to retract the cord within the clasp. The cord can be pulled out of the clasp to modify and change the circumference of the necklace as desired. Tanaka fails to discloses the details of the clasp as described in claim 1. However, Jacobia, as set forth previously, discloses the identical features of the clasp defined in claim 1. Both clasps work equally as well as the other in winding and unwinding the cord. Therefore, it would have been an obvious, prior to the earliest effective filing date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to replace Tanaka’s winding mechanism of its clasp with Jacobia’s winding mechanism as an alternative design for providing an effective mechanism for adjusting the length of the necklace with a force is applied thereto, i.e., to allow the adjustability of the necklace to fit over a wearer’s head and then retract to be positioned on the wearer’s neck.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 11-12 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACK W LAVINDER whose telephone number is (571)272-7119. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday 9-4pm (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tom Will can be reached on 571-272-6998. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JACK W. LAVINDER
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3677
/JACK W LAVINDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677
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