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 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 “depression” in claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. 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. Claim s 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Cook US 3815907 (hereinafter Cook) . Re. Cl. 1, Cook discloses: A ball collector system (10, Fig. 1) comprising: a trough (18, Fig. 1) ; a backdrop (20, Fig. 1) configured to catch a ball and redirect it toward the trough (see Fig. 1) ; and a collector (26, 40 Fig. 1) configured to collect the ball from the trough (see Fig. 1) . Re. Cl. 2 , Cook discloses: the backdrop comprises: an anchor (150, 152, 154, Fig. 7) configured to secure the backdrop to a surface (62, 64, 66, Fig. 1) ; a body portion (68, Fig. 1) ; and a skirt portion (158, Fig. 7) . Re. Cl. 3 , Cook discloses: the trough is coupled to the skirt portion of the backdrop (see Fig. 7, via 160 and 160’) . Re. Cl. 4 , Cook discloses: the trough is configured to form a depression that slopes toward a low point (see 116 Fig. 4) , thereby directing the ball toward the low point (see Fig. 1-4) . Re. Cl. 5 , Cook discloses: the collector is situated within the depression of the trough at the low point (see Fig. 4) . Re. Cl. 6 , Cook discloses: the collector comprises: a lift (26, Fig. 1) ; and a channel (40, Fig. 1) , wherein the lift is configured to cause the ball to move through the channel to a designated location (see Fig. 1, up through 40) . Re. Cl. 7 , Cook discloses: the channel comprises a tube (see 40, Fig. 1) . Re. Cl. 8 , Cook discloses: the lift comprises a motor (100, Fig. 2) that powers a driver (30, Fig. 3) configured to propel the ball through the channel (see Fig. 1-4) . Re. Cl. 9 , Cook discloses: the driver comprises a wheel (see 30, Fig. 3) . Re. Cl. 1 0 , Cook discloses: A method for collecting a ball (see Fig. 1) , wherein the method comprises: dampening a movement of the ball using a backdrop (20, Fig. 1; Col. 2, Lines 23-26) ; changing a trajectory of the ball to direct it to a trough (Col. 2, Lines 23-26) ; moving the ball along the trough to a designated location (see Fig. 1-3, down towards 26) ; and collecting the ball from the trough using a collector (26 and 40, Fig. 1) . Re. Cl. 1 1 , Cook discloses: the collector comprises a lift (26, Fig. 1-3) and a channel (40, Fig. 1) , and wherein the collecting the ball from the trough using the collector comprises: engaging the ball with the lift (see Fig. 4-5) ; and using the lift to cause the ball to move along the channel to a predetermined point (Col. 2, Lines 35-40) . Re. Cl. 1 2 , Cook discloses: the using the lift to cause the ball to move along the channel to the predetermined point comprises propelling the ball along the channel using a driver powered by a motor (Col. 2, Lines 30-40; motor 100 and drive 30) . Re. Cl. 1 3 , Cook discloses: the driver comprises a wheel (see 30, Fig. 1-4) . Re. Cl. 1 4 , Cook discloses: the method further comprises: spreading the backdrop to cover an area; placing the trough so that it is positioned along a skirt portion of the backdrop; and placing the collector on the trough. Claim s 15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Beaver US 4002336 (hereinafter Beaver ) . Re. Cl. 15, Beaver discloses: A collector (Fig. 1) comprising: a first lift (5, 10, Fig. 3) facing a first direction (see Fig. 3) , the first lift comprising: a channel (5, Fig. 3) having an entrance (see Fig. 7) and an exit (see Fig. 3, where 8 begins) ; a driver (10, Fig. 7) configured to act on a ball (see 11, Fig. 7) near the entrance to draw the ball into the channel and propel the ball through the channel and out the exit (see Fig. 3 and 7) ; and a motor configured to power the driver (variable speed motor, Col. 2, Lines 38-40) . Re. Cl. 1 7 , Beaver discloses: the driver comprises a wheel (see 10, Fig. 7) . Re. Cl. 1 8 , Beaver discloses: the wheel is positioned within the entrance to the channel, elevated, and configured to spin such that the wheel is configured to engage with a top surface of the ball when the ball is placed near the entrance (see Fig. 7) . Re. Cl. 1 9 , Beaver discloses: a distance between the wheel and a ground surface is slightly less than a diameter of the ball (see Fig. 7, a distance between the surface of 10 which projects through 5 and the opposing sidewall of 5 is slightly less than the diameter of the ball 11 as shown) . Re. Cl. 20 , Beaver discloses: the motor is configured to be switched on and off remotely (Col. 4, Lines 37-41) . 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim s 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins US 4568089 (hereinafter Jenkins) in view of Rappaport US 6190271 (hereinafter Rappaport) . Re. Cl. 15, Jenkins discloses: A collector (Fig. 1) comprising: a first lift ( 64, 82 , 74, Fig. 6 ) facing a first direction (see Fig. 6 ) , the first lift comprising: a channel ( 64, 82 , Fig. 3) having an entrance (see Fig. 6) and an exit (see Fig. 6 ) ; a driver ( 74 , Fig. 6 ) configured to act on a ball (see Fig. 6 7) near the entrance to draw the ball into the channel and propel the ball through the channel and out the exit (see Fig. 6 ) . Re. Cl. 16, Jenkins discloses: a second lift (62, 80, Fig. 6) positioned opposite the first lift and facing a second direction (see Fig. 6) . Re. Cl. 15, Jenkins discloses that the driver is powered in a known manner using a battery (Col. 3, Lines 55-60) but does not explicitly disclose the use of a motor to power the driver. Rappaport discloses a collector (Fig. 1) which includes a lift (52, 76) which functions to propel a ball through a channel and a motor (74). Rappaport discloses that the battery powers the motor to actuate the driver (Col. 2, Lines 5-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Jenkins device to include the motor of Rappaport with reasonable expectation of success since Rappaport states that such a modification provides a device which prolongs battery life by being only energized when a ball is disposed in a particular orientation (Col. 2, Lines 5-9). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Torbet US 4021037, Scott US 4116192, and McBride US 2007/0142131 disclose other known ball collectors which are presented to the Applicant for their consideration. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT CHRISTOPHER E GARFT whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1171 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. . 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. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHRISTOPHER GARFT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632