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 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 1-8 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 claim 1, line 6, “the driver” is recited. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, the Examiner will interpret the claim to read “the pawl assembly” as was previously recited for a related claim limitation.
Regarding claims 2-8, they are rejected because they pend from claim 1.
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, 2, 3, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wagner, DE 19814297 A1. Note: paragraph numbers are from the attached Espacenet machine translation of DE 19814297 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Wagner teaches a pawl assembly (rotary latch lock 10) for locking a door (door 32; Fig 4; [0001]), said pawl assembly comprising:
a housing (threaded sleeve 18; nut 33) that is configured to be fixedly mounted to the door (Fig 4 depicts 18 fixedly mounted to 32), and
a pawl (latch 30) that is movably connected to the housing [0026] and is configured to both rotate and translate with respect to the housing [0026],
wherein, in an unlocked position of the pawl assembly (Fig 2), the pawl is positioned to permit opening of the door [0025], and, in a locked position of the pawl assembly (see claim interpretation under claim 1 Claim Objection) (Fig 4), the pawl is positioned to prevent opening of the door [0026], and
wherein the pawl is configured to move closer to the door upon moving the pawl assembly from the unlocked position to the locked position [0026].
Regarding claim 2, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 1, wherein the pawl (30) is fixedly connected to a shaft (bolt 11) of the pawl assembly (10; [0023]).
Regarding claim 3, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 2, wherein the shaft (11) of the pawl assembly (10) includes a threaded shaft (threads 12) that is configured to be connected to the pawl, and a sleeve (cam component 22) that is non- rotatably connected to the threaded shaft ([0023] discusses 22 being fixed to 18).
Regarding claim 8, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 1, wherein the pawl (30) is configured to rotate about an axis (Fig 1 depicts the axis to be along the longitudinal axis of bolt 11; movement from Fig 2 to Fig 4 depicts 30 rotating about the longitudinal axis of 11; [0028]) and translate along the axis (movement from Fig 2 to Fig 4 depicts 30 translating along the longitudinal axis of 11 in the x direction; [0028]).
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 4, 5, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner, DE 19814297 A1.
Regarding claim 4, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 2, wherein a pin (grooved pin 21) associated with one of the shaft of the pawl assembly (21 is directly connected with 11 thereby meeting the Merriam-Webster definition 2 of associated and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term) and the housing (21 is not directly connected with 18) is engaged with a ramp (guide groove 23) disposed on the other of the shaft and the housing ([0028] discusses 22 being soldered to, thereby arranged with, 18 meeting the Merriam-Webster definition 2a of disposed and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term), such that motion of the pin along the ramp results in rotation and translation of the shaft and the pawl that is connected to the shaft [0028].
Regarding claim 5, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 4, wherein the ramp (23) is defined on the housing [0021] and the pin (21) extends from the shaft (11; [0028]; Fig 5).
Regarding claim 6, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 4, wherein the ramp (23) includes a detent (Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner depicts the detent to be the physical feature located between the rotation area D of 23 and the clamping area S of 23 defined by the recess created by the edges of the D and S areas converging at a point of changing ramp slop angles which create a positioning and holding device for the mechanical part pin 21 which could be felt tactilely, as described on instant specification page 11, line 4, thereby meeting the Merriam-Webster definition for detent and the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term) that is defined between two terminal ends of the ramp (see Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner), wherein the detent defines an intermediate fixed position for the pin between the two terminal ends of the ramp (see Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner), and wherein when the pin is positioned in the detent (see Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner), the door is permitted to open by a limited distance (Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner depicts 23 to be slightly wider than the diameter of 21 thereby permitting 32 to be opened a limited distance in the same manner as the instant invention).
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Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner
Regarding claim 7, Wagner teaches the pawl assembly of claim 4, wherein the ramp (23) extends in a direction along the housing (18) that has a circumferential component (D) as well as an axial component (WS; see Annotated excerpt Fig 5-Wagner).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 10, 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are allowed.
Regarding claim 9, while Wagner, US 6354119 B1, teaches it is known in the art for a driver that is configured to be rotatably mounted to a door, said driver comprising: a handle that is capable of being grasped by a user, an opening formed in the driver, a fastener positioned within the opening for mounting the driver to the door, a cover that is removably mounted to the driver and is positioned over the opening to conceal a head of the fastener, a lock plug being rotatably mounted to the driver between an unlocked state and a locked state, wherein in the unlocked state of the lock plug, the driver can be rotated with respect to the door, and in the locked state of the lock plug, the driver is prevented from rotating with respect to the door, and a projection extending from the lock plug, the projection being non-rotatable with respect to the lock plug, one of ordinary skill in the art would not find it obvious to modify Wagner as claimed in the instant application wherein the cover defining a relief in the form of an undercut on a surface thereof; and wherein in a locked state of the lock plug, the projection is positioned within the relief to prevent removal of the cover from the driver and consequent access to the fastener, and in an unlocked state of the lock plug, the projection is not positioned within the relief to permit removal of the cover from the driver and allow consequent access to the fastener; without the use of impermissible hindsight and/or destroying the reference.
Regarding claims 10-17, they are allowable because they pend from claim 9.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following patents are cited to further show the state of the art for pawl and driver apparatus.
Finkelstein et al., US 5582443 A, teaches a locking assembly for refrigerator doors with a pawl assembly and driver.
Welsh et al., US 7441812 B2, teaches a linear compression latch with a driver with a handle, an opening, a cover, and a lock plug with a projection that engages with the cover.
Vickers, US 7441427 B2, teaches a binary code key and tamper resistant latch with a pawl, a housing with a ramp, and a shaft with a pin engaged with the shaft, wherein the ramp has a detent located between the terminal ends of the ramp.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN A TULLIA whose telephone number is (571)272-6434. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached on (571)272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVEN A TULLIA/Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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