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 .
Claims 1-7 are pending.
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, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Albrecht, et al. (English translation of EP 2103561A2, herein Albrecht).1 2 Regarding claim 1, Albrecht teaches an RFID tag, comprising: an inlay that has a long shape (paragraph 0036: transponder 12) and has: a semiconductor element (paragraph 0005: integrated circuit); a substrate with an antenna pattern (paragraph 0005: antenna), which is formed to be connected to the semiconductor element (paragraph 0005: integrated circuit); and a protective member, which protects both surfaces of the substrate in a thickness direction (paragraph 0036: carrier element 11); and a tube member having elasticity and having the inlay housed therein from one end portion to another end portion of the inlay in a longitudinal direction, wherein the inlay has a size formed to be smaller than an inner diameter of the tube member, the size being in a lateral direction of the inlay, and has an engagement portion, which is formed at the other end portion of the inlay in the longitudinal direction, the engagement portion having been extended in the lateral direction of the inlay and engaging with an inner surface of the tube member (paragraph 0036: central cavity 15). Regarding claim 2, Albrecht teaches the engagement portion has an inclined surface, which is formed to be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the inlay, the inclined surface being at an end of the engagement portion, the end being near the one end portion (paragraph 0024), and the inclined surface is inclined to form an obtuse angle to an outer peripheral surface of the engagement portion, the outer peripheral surface extending along the inner surface of the tube member (paragraph 0024). Regarding claim 4, Albrecht teaches the tube member has a cross sectional shape that is formed in a flattened shape flattened in a thickness direction of the inlay (paragraph 0036: central cavity 15). Regarding claim 6, Albrecht teaches the engagement portion is formed on both sides of the inlay in the lateral direction (paragraph 0036: central cavity 15).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 5 and 7 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. The cited art fails to disclose the particular structure of the inlay as recited in these claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW MIKELS whose telephone number is (571)270-5470. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 7:00 AM ET - 4:30 PM ET, Friday 7:00 AM ET - 11:00 AM ET, the Examiner is on central time.3
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/MATTHEW MIKELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
1 In addition to the cited portions, please see also the associated figures.
2 A copy of the Espacenet translation is attached to this Office Action. A copy of the original EPO document is also attached.
3 The Examiner can also be reached at matthew.mikels@uspto.gov.