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 because the new reference characters in the replacement drawings (FIGS. 1, 2, 9 and 20-30) need lead lines directed to the elements.
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 Objections
Claims 3, 332 and 37 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 32, line 2, “a fixed base having a top side, a bottom side opposite the top side,” should be changed to --a fixed base having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side,--.
Claim 32, line 8, “90-degrees” should be changed to --90 degrees--.
Claim 33, line 2, “fully pitched” should be changed to --fully-pitched-- for consistency purposes.
Claim 37, line 2, “the internal transitioning” should be changed to --the internal shelf transitioning--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 34 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 34 recites “the internal space defined by the tent body has a first volume when the open angle is equal to 90 degrees” in lines 1-2. However, claim 32, from which claim 34 depends, previously recited “such that an open angle defined between the top side of the fixed base and the inner side of the top portion is greater than 90-degrees” (lines 7-8). As such, it is not understood how the open angle can be “equal to about 90 degrees” when it was already recited as being greater than 90 degrees. Clarification is required.
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.
Claim(s) 32-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dunn et al. (US 2022/0396967 A1) in view of Park (KR 20150092023 A).
Claim 32: Dunn et al. discloses a tent comprising: a fixed base (104/106) having a top side (top surface of 106) and a bottom side (bottom surface of 104) opposite the top side, the bottom side configured for securing the tent to a vehicle (paragraph 43); a top portion (102) having an outer side (on which members 156 and 158 are placed in FIG. 19) and inner side (seen in FIG. 21) opposite the outer side; a hinge hingeably connecting the top portion to the fixed base (paragraph 11), the top portion movable between a closed position (FIG. 1) and an open position (FIGS. 22-24 and 26) in which the top portion is rotated away from the fixed base such that an open angle defined between the top side of the fixed base and the inner side of the top portion is greater than 90 degrees (as seen in FIGS. 22-24 and 26, at some point during the opening process, the top portion is angled more than 90 degrees away from the fixed base); an inner fold-out base (108/110) hingeably connected to the fixed base opposite the top portion (as seen in FIGS. 23, 24, 26), the inner fold-out base moveable between a folded position (FIG. 22) and an unfolded position (FIGS. 23, 24, 26); an internal frame (not shown but discussed in paragraph 57); and a tent body (168) attached to the fixed base, the top portion, the inner fold-out base, and the internal frame (as seen in FIG. 27; paragraph 57), the tent body having a collapsed state (FIG. 1 shows collapsed state of the entire tent) and a pitched state (FIG. 27) in which the tent body defines an internal space; wherein the tent has: a collapsed configuration in which the top portion is in the closed position, the inner fold- out base is in the folded position, the internal frame is in the down position, and the tent body in the collapsed state (FIG. 1), and a fully-pitched configuration in which the top portion is in the open position, the inner fold- out base is in the unfolded position, the internal frame is in the extended position, and the tent body is in the pitched state (FIG. 27).
While Dunn et al. teaches an internal frame, Dunn et al. does not explicitly state the internal frame is pivotally attached to the top side of the fixed base. Park teaches a tent comprising: a fixed base (110) having a top side, a bottom side opposite the top side, the bottom side configured for securing the tent to a vehicle (as seen in FIG. 1); a top portion (120) having an outer side and inner side opposite the outer side; a hinge (not shown) hingeably connecting the top portion to the fixed base, the top portion movable between a closed position (FIG. 3) and an open position (FIG. 1); an inner fold-out base (130) hingeably connected to the fixed base opposite the top portion (via 111/131), the inner fold-out base moveable between a folded position (FIG. 4) and an unfolded position (FIG. 1); an internal frame (140) pivotally attached to the top side of the fixed base (as seen in FIG. 1), the internal frame having a down position (FIGS. 4 and 5) and an extended position (FIG. 1); and a tent body (not shown); wherein the tent has: a collapsed configuration (FIG. 3) in which the top portion is in the closed position, the inner fold- out base is in the folded position, the internal frame is in the down position, and the tent body in the collapsed state, and a fully-pitched configuration (FIG. 1) in which the top portion is in the open position, the inner fold- out base is in the unfolded position, the internal frame is in the extended position, and the tent body is in the pitched state. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Dunn et al. to include the internal frame as being pivotally attached to the top side of the fixed base, as taught by Park, so that the tent could be easily moved between the compact collapsed configuration and the full-pitched configuration and vice versa.
Claim 33: The top portion of Dunn et al. is configured to support an occupant leaned thereagainst when in the fully-pitched configuration since it would obviously have to be capable of supporting some weight since it is held in the fully-pitched open position somehow in order to be structurally sound enough to withstand forces/wind. Also, it is noted that the size, age and weight of occupants can largely vary, and when a person leans against an object, they generally do not rest their entire weight against said object.
Claim 34: As seen in FIGS. 22 and 26, Dunn et al. shown the top portion as being angled more than 90 degrees from the base. While Dunn et al. does not explicitly state the angle, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the open angle equal to 110 degrees to increase the useable interior volume of the vehicle tent while not overextending the top portion relative to the base to the point where the vehicle tent/top portion becomes unstable. Additionally, if the angle between the top portion and the fixed base was equal to 90 degrees (such as when the top portion passes through the 90-degree mark when opening the top portion), the tent would inherently have a volume. As such, it is noted that if the open angle of the top portion relative to the fixed base was 110 degrees the interior volume would be X% greater than if the open angle was only 90 degrees or any degree less than 110 degrees.
Claim(s) 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dunn et al. (US 2022/0396967 A1) in view of Park (KR 20150092023 A) as applied to claim 32 above, and further in view of Brown (US 985,002).
Dunn et al. is discussed above but lacks an internal shelf. Brown teaches an internal shelf (comprised of elements 1 and 2), the internal shelf having a deployed position (as seen in FIG. 1) and an undeployed position (not shown, but the shelf can be folded with the tent, which would constitute the undeployed position; “The shelf occupies a small space which is ordinarily not required for other purposes, and is foldable with the tent”), the internal transitioning from the undeployed position automatically as the tent is moved to the fully-pitched configuration (as soon as the tent were in their deployed position the shelf would also be in the deployed position as well due to the construction of the shelf). 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 combination of Dunn et al. and Park to include an internal shelf, such as that taught by Brown, so that the user has somewhere to store their personal articles during use without having to set up a shelf themselves, thus saving time and energy for the user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11, 13-14 and 18-29 are allowed.
Claims 35 and 36 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/6/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
It is noted that although Applicant has submitted replacement drawings in the response filed 3/6/2026, there are still outstanding objections to those drawings.
Applicant argues that although the top portion of Dunn may be temporarily opened beyond a 90-degree angle with respect the fixed base, the top portion is then lowered to an angles less than 90 degrees in the fully extended position shown in FIG. 27 (page 14, Remarks). However, claim 32 recites “an open position in which the top portion is rotated away from the fixed base such that an open angle defined between the top side of the fixed base and the inner side of the top portion is greater than 90-degrees” (lines 6-8). As Applicant admits in the Remarks, the top portion of the tent is temporarily moved to an angle greater than 90 degrees, even if it’s not the final position of the top portion, and thus there is a position where the top portion is open and rotated away from the fixed base more than 90 degrees even if it’s temporary. The claim language does not require that the top portion have an open angle greater than 90 degrees in the fully-pitched configuration. As such, the Examiner maintains that Dunn et al. does teach this limitation of claim 32.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 DANIELLE JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2268. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 11AM-7PM 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, David Dunn can be reached at (571)272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DNJ/Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636