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 .
Drawings
The subject matter of this application admits of illustration by a drawing to facilitate understanding of the invention. Applicant is required to furnish a drawing under 37 CFR 1.81(c). No new matter may be introduced in the required drawing. 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).
Each drawing must be clear and legible. Each claimed component must be illustrated and labeled by a reference number cited in the specification. Photographs are not permitted.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 4-11 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 11/26/2025.
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, 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shoup, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0219323.
Regarding claim 1, Shoup discloses a shipping apparatus comprising: at least one base member (44); at least one pallet support member (74); a pallet floor (14); a plurality of pallet floor channels (28) disposed on said pallet floor; and a plurality of side support beams (66, 72) disposed on said at least one pallet support member, but does not disclose the plurality of support beams comprises channels. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize channels for the support beams as channels are utilized in the assembly and as an effective means to support the door as a door track (78) is taught, and since there is no invention in merely changing the shape or form of an article without changing its function except in a design patent. Eskimo Pie Corp. v. Levous et al., 3 USPQ 23.
Regarding claim 3, Shoup discloses a shipping apparatus wherein said at least one base member is configured to receive a lifting mechanism (via 52). The phrase “configured to receive a lifting mechanism” is a statement of intended use of the claimed invention and must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shoup, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0219323 in view of Coogan, U.S. Patent 5,056,667.
Regarding claim 2, Shoup discloses a shipping apparatus but does not disclose wherein at least one hinge mechanism is disposed on said at least one pallet support member; said at least one hinge mechanism being structured to enable a change in orientation of said at least one pallet support member. Coogan teaches a hinge means (38) for collapsing the sides of a shipping apparatus. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a hinge mechanism for easier transporting of the containers after use.
Conclusion
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GISELE D. FORD
Examiner
Art Unit 3633
/GISELE D FORD/Examiner, Art Unit 3633