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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 2, 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 2, 2026 was filed after the mailing date of the Notice of Allowance on March 9, 2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
Claims 24, 39, 43 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1, 14, 17 of U.S. Patent No. 12, 582,431. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. Patent claims 1, 14, 17 recites the claimed trigger and trigger stop in claims 24, 39, and 43. Therefore, patent claims 1, 14, 17 is in essence a “species” of the generic invention of application claims 24, 39, 43. It has been held that a generic invention is “anticipated” by a “species” within the scope of the generic invention. See In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Since application claims 24, 39, 43 is anticipated by patent claim 1, 14, 17, it is not patentably distinct from patent claims 1, 14, 17.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANH TIEU DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3221. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday (9am-4pm EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Darwin Erezo can be reached at (571) 272-4695. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANH T DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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