PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION PAPER A. Tuesday - April 25, :00 am to 1:00 pm INSTRUCTIONS

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1 PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION PAPER A Tuesday - April 25, :00 am to 1:00 pm INSTRUCTIONS You must place your assigned number on each examination paper, answer book(s) and envelope. No further identification may be used on any material submitted. At the conclusion of the examination period, place the examination paper and answer book(s) in the envelope and give the sealed envelope to the supervisor. The only aids that you are permitted are the Patent Act and Patent Rules and any English, French and/or bilingual dictionaries. Salutations, signatures and other formalities of correspondence are not required in your answers; substance is what is important. Give reasons for your choices and alternatives. Skeleton and outline answers will be considered if they appear on the right hand pages. Identify your answers by question number. Write legibly in ink, double spaced, on the right side of the answer booklet. Markers are not obliged to consider anything that is written on the left hand pages. You may use the left hand pages for your notes and drafts. You may refer to, incorporate and use portions of the examination paper in your answers. Total marks available in this paper: 100

2 Page 1 of 27 Dear Examination Candidate, PATENT AGENT EXAMINATION 2006 PAPER A Paper A is a patent drafting exercise in which you are requested to prepare a full patent specification. As usual, significant weight (60%) is given to the claims during evaluation but you are required to demonstrate that you can draft a full patent specification. Attached you will find drawings (Figs. 1 to 6) illustrating a Door Knob Cover. You will note that the invention is intended to childproof a door so that young children cannot unlatch it. Relevant prior art US patents 2,610,877; 2,587,285 and 4,082,351 are also attached. The patents describe the general operation of this type of door knob cover but each patent describes a different structure for engaging the door knob so that an adult can unlatch a door. The features of the invention should be apparent from viewing the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a door knob and two complementary portions forming the door knob cover according to the invention. In Fig. 2, the door knob cover is positioned on the door knob. It will be understood that the door knob cover is free to rotate about the door knob and therefore the door knob cannot easily be gripped. The section views of Figs. 4A and 4B show the door knob cover in two positions, namely: free to rotate about the door knob and in frictional engagement with the door knob so that the door knob may be gripped. Duplicate copies of the drawings are provided so that you can make annotations on one copy and add reference numerals to the other.

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13 USP 285 Page 12 of 27 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,285 FEBRUARY 16, 1952 Broscoe

14 USP 285 Page 13 of 27 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,285 FEBRUARY 16, 1952 Broscoe The invention relates to improvements in knob attachments and more particularly in a device that may be easily and quickly mounted around a latch operating member; such as a conventional door knob, to prevent its manipulation by a small child. An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive attachment to be mounted on a door knob to guard against rotation of the knob and actuation of the latch associated therewith by small children without interfering with or preventing actuation of the latch mechanism by older persons. Another object is to provide a guard of the character referred to which is not expensive to manufacture, may be easily and quick installed, and which is very effective. Another object is to provide an attachment of the character referred to with novel means to detachably secure the parts thereof assembled on a door knob. Other and further objects of the present invention subsequently will become apparent by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. On the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a latch operating member showing the novel attachment mounted thereon and partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the attachment mounted upon a door knob.

15 USP 285 Page 14 of 27 The device of the present invention as shown in the accompanying drawing comprises a shell generally indicated at 11 fabricated from shape-retaining sheet stock, preferably plastic or metal. The shell is formed from two substantially like halves 12 and 13, each of which is in the form of a semi-cylindrical or dished ring. The dished ring 13 has its outer peripheral edge in abutment with the outer peripheral edge of the dished ring 12 when the parts are in assembled relation. They are secured together for ready detachment, preferably by providing a slot 14 in the dished ring 13 to receive a tongue 15 extending from the abutting peripheral edge of the dished ring 12. If desired, two or more such slot and tongue securing means may be provided. The shell is adapted to be assembled over a latch operating member which, in the present instance, consists of a door knob 16. The shell 11 has internal dimensions slightly greater than the overall dimensions of the knob 16 so as to be freely rotatable relative to the knob. The opposed faces 17 and 18 of the knob 16 are left uncovered when the device is mounted thereon. It should be quite obvious that any attempt made to actuate the latch operating member, as by rotation of the knob 16, by the conventional method of embracing the shell 11 within the hand, will result merely in rotation of the shell 11. The latch operating member of knob 16 is not actuated by such rotation. The attachment, therefore, is especially useful as a means for preventing small children from grasping the latch operating member and actuating the latch. In instances when operation of the latch is desired, as when the closure in which the latch operating device is mounted is to be unlatched, digital engagement of the door knob 16 can be effected in the manner best illustrated in Fig. 1. Upon referring to that disclosure, it will be observed that the opposed faces 17 and 18 of the door knob 16 are engaged between the tips of one or more fingers and the thumb of the operator's hand. Upon the application of slight squeezing pressure, the knob 16 is firmly engaged

16 USP 285 Page 15 of 27 between the finger tips and may be rotated to actuate the latch. Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been shown in the accompanying drawing and described in detail in the foregoing specification, it should be understood that the invention may embody a wide variety of modifications in size, shape and detail construction, to accommodate latch operating members of various sizes and shapes, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. CLAIMS OMITTED

17 USP 877 Page 16 of 27 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,877 SEPTEMBER 16, 1952 Weaver

18 USP 877 Page 17 of 27 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,877 SEPTEMBER 16, 1952 Weaver The present invention relates to operating knobs of the type used on doors, cupboards, water taps and the like and aims to provide means adapted to prevent small children from operating such knobs while leaving grown-up persons free to manipulate them in the normal manner. Broadly it is an object of the present invention to provide means adapted to prevent small children from effectively manipulating knobs on doors, cupboards, water taps, etc., without hindering grown-ups in the effective operation thereof. It is another object of the present invention to provide operating knob for doors, drawers, cupboards, and the like which is of such construction that small children are unable to turn it effectively, while it may readily be operated by grown-ups. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to furnish an attachment for manipulating knobs which renders it impossible for small children to turn the knobs while permitting grown-up persons to operate them in the normal manner. Additionally, it is an object of this invention to furnish an attachment of the type referred to which may readily be applied to door knobs and the like and, when applied, will resist attempts, on the part of small children, to tear it off. It is still another object of the present invention to furnish an attachment for door knobs of the type described which, while constructed to reliably adhere to the knob to which it has been applied, may readily be detached by the experienced hands of grown-up persons.

19 USP 877 Page 18 of 27 Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device of the type referred to which is pleasing in appearance. It is yet another object of the present invention to furnish an attachment of the kind described which is inexpensive and simple in construction and which lends itself readily to mass production methods. These and other objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawing which illustrates certain preferred embodiments thereof and wherein: Figure 1 is. a perspective view of a door knob provided with an attachment according to my invention; Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation of the attachment shown in Figure 1 with the door knob indicated in phantom lines; Figure 3 is a rear view of the attachment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 removed from the door knob. The device of my invention is formed by a shell or cover 10 which concentrically surrounds the door knob 25 as shown in Figure 1. The shell 10 is composed of a central dome or disc 11 and a plurality of arcuate legs or prongs 12 projecting from the periphery of said dome in the general direction of its central axis, with each two adjacent prongs forming a window or recess 13. As may best be seen from Figure 2, the initial portions of the prongs 12 diverge from one another to conform with the maximum diameter of the door knob 25 while their end portions converge to a sufficient degree to securely anchor the device behind the knob. The ends of prongs 12 are bent, backwards to form rounded camming surfaces 15 and may be looped into hems 16 adapted to receive a cord or wire 17 (Figure 1).

20 USP 877 Page 19 of 27 As shown in Figure 2 the diametrical width of the shell formed by dome or disc 11 and prongs 12 is at most points slightly larger than that of corresponding parts of the door knob so as to permit free rotational movement of the shell relative to the knob. Also, the concave area of the shell is of a smooth and rounded nature so that it may glide easily over the surface of the door knob whether the latter is of rounded or polygonal contours. To position the described appliance over knob 25, the open end of the shell 10 (Figure 3) is pressed against the knob, with its rounded surfaces 15 engaging the face thereof, such that the prongs 12 are pried apart until they pass the maximum width of the knob. The described embodiment of the invention is preferably made of a resilient material to cause the prongs to snap back to their initial positions, once they have passed the maximum circumference thereof. I have found stainless steel to be very satisfactory because, aside from its pleasing appearance, it may be made of adequate resiliency to permit application of the device in the described manner, and yet will be of sufficient sturdiness to resist any efforts, on the part of children, to tear the shell from the door knob. As an safeguard against untimely detachment of the device from its knob, it may be of advantage to tie a cord or wire 17 through the hems 16 so as to positively retain the ends of prongs 12 at a relative distance at which it is impossible to pull them over the maximum circumference of the door knob. Whenever a child wishes to turn a door knob provided with the device of my invention, he will invariably get hold of, and turn, the shell instead of the actual operating knob, and due to the larger diametrical width of the shell and the smoothness of its inner surfaces the shell will readily revolve about the knob without affecting the operative position of the knob itself. Thus, though able to turn what he believes to be the door knob, the child will find himself unable to open the door; and even if a child should accidentally place his hand into one of the recesses 13, and thus get hold of the door

21 USP 877 Page 20 of 27 knob, his span would be too small to reach an opposite recess with his thumb, which is essential to get an operating grip on the knob. The same is true, if a device of the type described is arranged over the operating knobs of medicine chests, knob-type water faucets and the like. As a result thereof, parents need no longer fear that their children may unobservedly gain access to potentially harmful pills or medicines, or turn on water taps and cause basins and bath tubs to overflow. A grown-up person, however, who wishes to operate a knob protected in accordance with my invention, merely grips the knob with his fingers through the recesses or windows 13 formed in the shell 11 and turns it in the usual manner. The circumferential width of the recesses 13 should, therefore, be sufficiently large to accommodate at least one finger of a grown-up person, but should preferably not be large enough accommodate the whole hand of a child. CLAIMS OMITTED

22 USP 351 Page 21 of 27 APRIL 4, 1978 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,351 Chrones

23 USP 351 Page 22 of 27 APRIL 4, 1978 UNITED STATES PATENT X,XXX,351 Chrones SAFETY COVER FOR A DOOR KNOB BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The safety cover is for use with any door having a rotatable latch as is conventionally used in houses, schools, stores, etc. A child or infant at a very early age attempts to open doors by rotating the knob. If proper supervision is not provided there is always a possibility that the child will encounter certain dangerous situations such as stairs or objects which could fall on and injure the infant if access is permitted to an unattended room or area, etc. 2. Description of the Prior Art Access to unattended areas through doors can be prevented by locks, keys, etc. However, the locking of inner doors in a home is not recommended for safety reasons and is also not convenient to adults and children above the age of 4 years. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is a feature of the present invention to provide a safety cover for a door knob which is designed to complicate the opening of the door by small children but permits the opening of the door by other persons by proper manipulation of the safety cover.

24 USP 351 Page 23 of 27 A further feature of the present invention is to provide a safety cover of the aforementioned type which turns freely on the door knob when turned by a small child but effectively grips the door knob for opening same when properly manipulated by a person of sufficient age and know-how. A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a safety cover of the aforementioned type which includes a pair of inner and outer cover parts designed to fit around the door knob and shank and which are provided with interengaging annular fastening formations which permit the cover parts to be snapped together. Another feature of the present invention is to provide a safety cover of the aforementioned type, with the outer cover part being provided with a flexible wall portion and including a resilient pressure pad abutting the flexible wall portion and adapted for frictional engagement with the door knob for turning same. Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a safety cover of the aforementioned type wherein the cover parts are made from a plastic material and the resilient pressure pad is made from a rubber-like or yieldable material. A further feature is to provide a safety cover which is safe, simple in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to assemble and install, and which can be operated by adults to turn the door knob but not by infants and small children. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the safety cover, with the inner and outer cover parts separated, ready for mounting on a door knob; FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the safety cover and door knob assembly;

25 USP 351 Page 24 of 27 FIG. 3 is a front view of the inner cover part taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a back view of the outer cover part showing the interior thereof and taken on the line 4-4 of F IG. 1; FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the inner cover part taken on the line 6-6 of 5 FIG. 1; and FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the outer cover part taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 4. DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The safety cover is designated by the numeral 10 and is adapted to be mounted over a conventional door knob 12 and shank 14 (FIG. 2) which are mounted by a plate 16 to the door 18 as is well known in the art. The door knob 12 has a front surface 20 and carries a lock, not shown, which is operated in the usual manner by a key inserted in the opening 22. This invention may be used with any rotatable door knob regardless of whether it may be locked or not. The safety cover 10 has three components including an inner cover part 24, an outer cover part 26 and an annular relatively thin flexible pressure pad or disc 28 carried by the outer cover part 26 as will be subsequently described. The inner and outer cover parts 24 and 26 have an axis 29 (FIG. 2) which is generally coincidental with the door knob axis. The inner cover part 24 has an annular ring-like or cup portion 30 which is provided at one side thereof with a centrally located opening 31. A shank engaging rim portion 32 surrounds opening 31 and forms a portion of the inner cover part 24. The other side of the ring-like portion 30 terminates in an annular fastening formation 34. The annular rim portion 32 and annular fastening formation 34, which is formed on a diameter larger

26 USP 351 Page 25 of 27 than the diameter of the rim portion 32, are connected by a tapered wall section or area 36. A slot or opening 40 extending radially outwardly from axis 29 separates the inner cover part 24 and permits the cover part 24 to be circumferentially expanded to fit over the shank 14 and into the outer cover part 26. The inner cover part 24 has oppositely facing surfaces 42, 44 on opposite sides of slot 40. The slot 40 extends through the rim portion 32, tapered wall section 36 and annular fastening formation 34. The annular fastening formation 34 has a smooth inner surface 48 in the form of a cylinder; an outer surface provided with a first annular abutment 50 for limiting the insertion of the inner cover part 24 into the outer cover part 26; and an annular tapered ramp or groove 52 terminating in a second annular abutment 54 which is spaced from the first abutment 50 and is connected thereto by an annular shoulder 56. The annular face or surface on inner cover part 24 is designated by the numeral 58. The outer cover part 26 includes a cylindrical portion or rim 60 having at one edge thereof an annular fastening formation 62 and at the other edge thereof a depending flexible generally tapered wall portion 64 provided therein with a centrally located opening 66. The cylindrical portion 60 is in the form of a cylinder, has a smooth inner surface 68 and is provided with an upstanding locating rib or bar 70 which extends from the tapered wall 64 to said one edge thereof at the open end of the outer cover part 26. The fastening formation 62 includes an inner annular stop abutment 74 engageable with the annular face or surface 58 of inner cover part 24 and an annular raised shoulder or rib 76 which snaps into and is held against the tapered ramp or groove 52 of the inner cover part 24 to thereby cover parts 24 and 26 in a predetermined assembled relationship. During the assembly of the inner and outer cover parts 24, 26 the inner

27 USP 351 Page 26 of 27 apart 24 is inserted into the outer cover part 26 with the slot 40 spanning the elongated ridge 70 as shown in FIG. 5. The flexible tapered wall portion 64 has an inner surface 80 and an outer surface 82. The inner surface 80 is provided with an annular series of raised projections or bumps 84 (FIG. 4). The bumps are very small and each has a height of approximate 1/16 inch or less. The flexible pressure pad 28 includes an annular disc portion 86 having inner and outer surfaces 88 and 90. The outer surface 90 engages the inner surface 80 and the raised projections 84 of the flexible tapered walll portion 64 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The projections 84 assist in preventing the pad 28 from turning independently of the cover parts. The pad 28 has a centrally located opening 92 therein which extends through the disc portion 86. At the back or outer surface 90, the disc portion 86 is provided with an annular rim 94 terminating in an annular flange 96 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The annular rim 94 extends through the opening 66 provided in the flexible wall portion 64, with the flange 96 engaging the outer surface 82 as best shown in FIG 2. The pad 28 is thus carried by the flexible wall portion 64 of the outer cover part 26. The inner and outer cover parts 24, 26 are made from a non-toxic plastic material by a conventional molding operation. The flexible pad 28 is made from a flexible material such as neoprene, rubber or any suitable flexible or rubber-like material by a conventional molding operation. The safety covers 10 may be made in various sizes to fit different size door knobs. In use, the inner cover part 24 is separated from the outer cover part 26 which carries the pressure pad 28. The inner cover part 24 is expanded by moving the surfaces 42, 44 apart and thereafter it is inserted over the door shank 14 and knob 12. When so

28 USP 351 Page 27 of 27 mounted the annular rim portion 32 engages the door shank 14 and the ring-like portion 30 surrounds part of the door knob 12. Finally, the outer cover part 26 is inserted over the remaining portion of the door knob 12 and the locating ridge 70 thereof is aligned with the slot 40 in the inner cover part 24. Thereafter the annular fastening formations 34, 62 on both cover parts 24, 26 are removably snapped together in the manner disclosed previously. When the safety cover 10 is mounted as just described, rotation of the assembled parts 24, 26 is effective to spin the parts on the knob 12 and shank 14. A person must have sufficient strength and know-how to turn the knob 12 via the safety cover 10. This is achieved by a person applying a sufficient force to the front surface 82 of the flexible wall portion 64 to depress or flex same inwardly towards the knob 12 thus urging the annular flexible disc 86 against and into frictional contact with the front surface 20 of knob 12. When completed, the person maintains the friction contact between the pad 28 and knob 12 and rotates the safety cover 10 which turns the knob 12, thus opening the door 18. CLAIMS OMITTED

Oct. 25, ,280,665. Filed April 8, ATToRNEYs H. BLOCK. 2 Sheets-Sheet NVENTOR HAROLD BLOCK TWEEZERS

Oct. 25, ,280,665. Filed April 8, ATToRNEYs H. BLOCK. 2 Sheets-Sheet NVENTOR HAROLD BLOCK TWEEZERS Oct. 25, 1966 Filed April 8, 1966 H. BLOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet NVENTOR HAROLD BLOCK ATToRNEYs Oct. 25, 1966 Filed April 8, 1966 H, BLOCK 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 ZZZZZZ Taseo (7 INVENTOR HAROLD BLOCK ATTORNEYS United