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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application Number: 17/847,420 filed on 6/23/22 has a total of 20 claims pending for examination; there are 3 independent claims and 17 dependent claims, all of which are examined below.
Drawings
The drawing(s) have been reviewed by the examiner and are found comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.81 to 1.85.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-10, 15-17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 20200024900 to Froese et al. (hereinafter Froese) in view of US Patent No. 2,033,483 to Sachs (hereinafter Sachs) in view of US Patent No. 6,161,345 to Hope et al. (hereinafter Hope).
With regards to claim 1, Froese teaches a safety stair device [figs 1-5 elements 100 which includes elements 120, 140] for safely and easily allowing a user to enter and exit a storm shelter comprising:
a set of stairs [figs 1-5 element 140]; and
wherein the set of stairs [figs 1-5 element 140] are secured against a plurality of rungs [figs 1-5 elements 126] of a ladder [figs 1-5 element 120].
Froese teaches all of the above limitations but is silent as to wherein the set of stairs comprise at least one padding component and the ladder being a storm shelter ladder.
However, Sachs teaches a set of stairs [Sachs figs 1-3] comprise at least one padding component [Sachs figs 1-3 elements 10-11] for the benefit of providing a simple and inexpensive stair cushion that will stand a great deal of wear under hard use [Sachs lines 1-5].
Furthermore, Hope teaches a storm shelter ladder [Hope figs 1, 3, 4, 16 element 88] for the benefit of providing easy ingress and egress to the bottom of a storm shelter [Hope column 4 lines 15-18]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Froese, Sachs and Hope to have at least one padding component [Sachs figs 1-3 elements 10-11] for the benefit of providing a simple and inexpensive stair cushion that will stand a great deal of wear under hard use [Sachs lines 1-5] and the ladder be a storm shelter ladder [Hope figs 1, 3, 4, 16 element 88] for the benefit of providing easy ingress and egress to the bottom of a storm shelter [Hope column 4 lines 15-18].
With regards to claim 2, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 1, wherein the set of stairs comprise a plurality of indentations along a back of the set of stairs [see annotated figure below showing vertical indentations that allow the stairs to slide along the rails of the ladder].
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With regards to claim 3, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 2, wherein the plurality of indentations are aligned with the plurality of rungs of the storm shelter ladder [see annotated fig below showing the indentations aligned with two rungs].
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With regards to claim 4, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 3, wherein the set of stairs [figs 1-5 element 140] is placed over the plurality of rungs [figs 1-5 elements 126] via the plurality of indentations [as shown in fig above under claim 2] to secure the set of stairs [figs 1-5 elements 140] in place on the storm shelter ladder [figs 1-5 elements 120].
With regards to claim 5, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 1, wherein the set of stairs [figs 1-5 element 140] comprises a plurality of stairs [figs 1-5 element 140 as shown].
With regards to claim 6, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of stairs comprises a pair of stringers, to which a plurality of brackets are secured [see annotated figure below].
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With regards to claim 7, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of stairs comprises a pan [fig 3 shows three stairs, each having a horizontal part of stairs] and a riser [fig 3 shows three stairs, each having a vertical part of stairs].
With regards to claim 8, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 7, wherein each pan is secured onto the pair of stringers via at least two of the plurality of brackets [see annotated figure used in claim 6 rejection above].
With regards to claim 9, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of brackets comprises pre-formed openings to receive a fastener [paragraph 28 – elements 160, 162 use a safety pin that engages elements 144, 146 with element 120 through openings].
With regards to claim 10, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 9, wherein the set of stairs increases in elevation from a bottom stair to a top stair [fig 3 shows the stairs can be used to ascend or descend].
With regards to claim 15, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 1, wherein the set of stairs are manufactured from an aluminum, a stainless steel, a polycarbonate or [note use of alternate language] a fiber-reinforced plastic [paragraph 3, 21, 30].
With regards to claim 16, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 1 further comprising at least one handrail [figs 1-5 element 148].
With regards to claim 17, Froese teaches the safety stair device of claim 1, wherein the set of stairs is wider than the storm shelter ladder [figs 2, 5, element 140 as shown, is wider than element 120].
With regards to claim 20, it is of similar scope as the combination of claims 1-5 and thus is rejected under similar rationale. Furthermore, the stairs are secured using Froese elements 160, 162 and the stairs are used for walking up/down.
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 20200024900 to Froese et al. (hereinafter Froese) in view of US Patent No. 2,033,483 to Sachs (hereinafter Sachs) in view of US Patent No. 6,161,345 to Hope et al. (hereinafter Hope) in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 20080040850 to Moots (hereinafter Moots).
With regards to claim 11, the combination of Froese, Sachs and Hope teaches all of the above but is silent as to the safety stair device of claim 1, wherein the at least one padded component comprises a foam strip having a sufficient density to provide a desirable degree of protection.
However, Moots teaches using at least one padded component comprises a foam strip [Moots fig 1 element 210] having a sufficient density to provide a desirable degree of protection [Moots paragraphs 20-21] for the benefit of reducing injury to a person who might fall on or against a cushioned surface [Moots paragraphs 20-21].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Froese, Sachs, Hope and Moots to have the at least one padded component comprise a foam strip [Moots fig 1 element 210] having a sufficient density to provide a desirable degree of protection [Moots paragraphs 20-21] for the benefit of reducing injury to a person who might fall on or against a cushioned surface [Moots paragraphs 20-21].
With regards to claim 12, the combination of Froese, Sachs, Hope and Moots teaches the safety stair device of claim 11, wherein the at least one padding component comprises a closed-cell, cross linked polyethylene or [note use of alternate language] a polyethylene/EVA foam [Moots paragraphs 20-21], combined under the same rationale as above.
With regards to claim 13, the combination of Froese, Sachs, Hope and Moot teaches the safety stair device of claim 12, wherein the at least one padded component [Sachs figs 1-3 elements 10-11] comprises an attachment means [Sachs figs 1-3 element 13] to bond to the set of stairs, combined under the same rationale as in claim 1 above.
With regards to claim 14, the combination of Froese, Sachs, Hope and Moot teaches the safety stair device of claim 13, wherein the attachment means comprises at least one of [note use of alternate language] an adhesive strip, an adhesively mounted hook and loop fastener means and a mechanical fastener [Sachs figs 1-3 element 13] , combined under the same rationale as in claim 1 above.
Claim(s) 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 20200024900 to Froese et al. (hereinafter Froese) in view of US Patent No. 2,033,483 to Sachs (hereinafter Sachs) in view of US Patent No. 6,161,345 to Hope et al. (hereinafter Hope).
With regards to claim 18, it is a combination of claims 1, 13, 14, 2, 3, 4 and 16 above and thus is rejected under similar rationale, combined under the same rationale as shown above.
With regards to claim 19, it is of similar rationale as claim 16 above and thus is rejected under similar rationale.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20080172954 teaches an emergency shelter that has a ladder section attached to the shelter entry door and a staggered ladder section within the shelter that could be interpreted to be a set of stairs.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20120079780 teaches an in-ground shelter including a ladder.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20140103000 teaches stairs coupled to a ladder.
US Patent No. 4,321,293 teaches a stair and treat mat that act as a cushion.
US Patent No. 1,292,889 teaches a stair cushion.
US Patent No. 2,268,021 teaches a stair cushion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID E MARTINEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4152. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel P Cahn can be reached on (571)270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID E MARTINEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634