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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-10, 12, and 14-20 are pending in the application.
Claims 11 and 13 have been cancelled by Applicant.
In Applicant’s response filed 03 July 2025, claims 1, 16, and 18-19 were amended and claims 11 and 13 were cancelled. These amendments have been entered.
Drawings
Replacement drawings were received on 03 July 2025.
These drawings are acceptable or what they show; however the following objections remain:
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “fastening element” which includes “a head and an elongated member” of claim 1 and the “helical screw” of claim 16 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Examiner notes that, while a ref. no. “7” is shown indicating a “fastening element 7” is generally shown in Figs. 2 and 3, no details of the fastening element are shown and no “head” or “elongated member” are shown. Nor is any “helical screw” shown.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bourgeois (FR 2748084, a copy of which is attached herewith, along with a machine-generated English translation).
Re Claim 1: Bourgeois discloses furniture comprising a plurality of pieces,
at least one first piece (2; Fig. 3) of the plurality of pieces comprises at least one fastening plate (4; Fig. 1) and at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A),
at least one second piece (2; Fig. 1) of the plurality of pieces comprises at least one fastening piece (6) and at least one groove (12, 15) in the fastening piece, wherein the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is inserted into the at least one groove (along the “sliding direction” shown in annotated Fig. 2 below), and
the at least one first piece and the at least one second piece (2, 2) are removably connected together through a fastening element (bolts 7), wherein the fastening element includes a head and an elongated member (see annotated Fig. 2 below), and wherein the elongated member is inserted (along the “insertion direction” shown in annotated Fig. 2 below) into the fastening piece (6) in a direction (the “insertion direction”) that is perpendicular to a direction (the “sliding direction”) in which the at least one fastening protrusion is inserted into the at least one groove.
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Re Claim 2: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening plate (4) is attached to a first end of the least one first piece (2; Fig. 3).
Re Claim 3: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening plate (4) comprises a plurality of plates (not shown) and the plurality of plates are attached to the first end and a second end (not shown; opposite to the end shown in Fig. 3) of the least one first piece.
Re Claim 4: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is connected to the at least one fastening plate (4).
Re Claim 5: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) comprises at least one hole (the holes through which connecting means 7 pass; see Fig. 4).
Re Claim 6: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) comprises a plurality of holes (the holes through which connecting means 7 pass; see Fig. 4).
Re Claim 7: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) comprises a plurality of protrusions (11, 11A).
Re Claim 8: Bourgeois discloses wherein the plurality of protrusions (11, 11A) are connected to the plurality of plates (4).
Re Claim 9: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening piece (6; Fig. 2) is attached to a first end of the least one second piece (2; Fig. 1).
Re Claim 10: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening piece (6) comprises a plurality of fastening pieces (not shown) and the plurality of fastening pieces are attached to the first end and a second end (not shown; opposite to the end shown in Fig. 1) of the least one second piece.
Re Claim 12: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening piece (6) comprises a plurality of grooves (12, 15; Fig. 2).
Re Claim 14: Bourgeois discloses wherein the at least one fastening piece (6) comprises a plurality of fastening pieces (not shown) and the plurality of fastening pieces comprises a plurality of grooves (12, 15) and each of the plurality of protrusions (11, 11A) are inserted into each of the plurality of grooves.
Re Claim 15: Bourgeois discloses wherein the furniture further comprises at least one aperture (8; Fig. 1) in at least one of the plurality of pieces.
Re Claim 16: Bourgeois discloses wherein the fastening member is a helical screw (7).
Re Claim 18: Bourgeois discloses wherein one of the two pieces of the plurality of pieces (2, 2) has a plurality of apertures (8; Fig. 1).
Re Claim 19: Bourgeois discloses wherein each of the plurality of apertures (8) is circular in shape.
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 17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bourgeois (FR 2748084).
Re Claims 17 and 20: Bourgeois, as discussed for claim 1 above, discloses furniture significantly as claimed except wherein each of the plurality of pieces is made from metal or wood (as is required by claim 17); and each of the plurality of pieces is made from metal (as is required by claim 20).
Examiner notes that it has been held that the selection of a known material based upon its suitability for the intended use is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960) [discussed in MPEP 2144.07].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to design the device of Bourgeois, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that each of the plurality of pieces is made from metal or wood (as is required by claim 17); and each of the plurality of pieces is made from metal (as is required by claim 20), for the purpose of, for example, optimizing strength, weight, and cost characteristics, and since the use of such a known material would have been considered a design choice within the skill of the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03 July 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for at least the following reasons:
Applicant has argued that Bourgeois fails to disclose the newly added limitations of amended claim 1. Specifically, Applicant has argued that the elongated member of the fastening element (threaded bolts 7) of Bourgeois is not inserted into the fastening piece (6) in a direction that is perpendicular to ta direction in which the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is inserted into the at least one groove (12, 15) of the fastening piece.
In response, Examiner notes that, as discussed in the prior art rejection above, the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is actually inserted into the groove (12, 15) in a “sliding direction” (see annotated Fig. 2 above) relative to a frame of reference on the fastening piece (6). As discussed in lines 118-120 of the English translation attached with the copy of Bourgeois in the Office Action mailed 03 April 2025, “after inserting the protrusion 11 of the first core into a cutout in the corresponding upright, the second core 6 is inserted into the upright where it slides until the stop comes into contact with the protrusion.” Thus, in the attachment process of Bourgeois, the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is first inserted into the holes (8) of the upright (2) and the, subsequently, the fastening piece (6) is slid along the “sliding direction” shown in annotated Fig. 2 above such that the at least one fastening protrusion (11, 11A) is received within the groove (12, 15) along the “sliding direction”. After that, the fastening element (7) is inserted along the “insertion direction” to complete the assembly. As shown in annotated Fig. 2 above, this “insertion direction” is perpendicular to the “sliding direction”.
For at least these reasons, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the prior art rejection has been maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW R MCMAHON whose telephone number is (571)270-3067. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at (571) 270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW R MCMAHON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678