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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/28/2024 was filed after the mailing date of the application on 08/10/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim (Korean Patent Publication No. KR101561079B1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim shows an adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly (Kim, variable sport climbing system, page 3) comprising: a plurality of panels (Kim, boards 510, page 4), each of the plurality of panels comprising a surface element having a front face and a rear face (Kim, “The engagement piece 530 is connected to and installed at the other end of the cylinder (410), hinged to the board 510 so as to connect the cylinder 410 on the board 510 of the climbing board (500) (h) It becomes is", page 5, see annotated FIG. 3 below; The engagement piece of Kim shows the surface element of the claimed invention. The rear face of the engagement piece of Kim is shown below in FIG. 2. The front face of the engagement piece of Kim is attached to the board 510), and one or more frame elements (Kim, hinge coupler 511, page 5), each frame element being affixed to a rear of the surface element and extending along an edge of the panel (Kim, see annotated FIG. 3 below; In the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the hinge couplers of Kim being positioned along the edges of the boards 510, which is connected to the engagement piece of Kim, shows the frame element being affixed to a rear of the surface element and extending along an edge of the panel of the claimed invention); wherein the front faces of the surface elements together provide a climbing surface (Kim, “The climbing board 500 is connected to the adjusting means 400 becomes as adjusting means in accordance with the operation of the flow 400 can be varied in various forms for a plurality of the board 510 are connected to each other”, page 5, see FIG. 1; The boards of Kim are attached to the front faces of the engagement pieces of Kim, which uphold the boards, thereby showing the front faces of the surface elements of the claimed invention together providing a climbing surface); wherein each of the frame elements is adjustably connected with a frame element of an adjacent panel (Kim, “End that is hinge fitted to the hinge coupler (511) when being the board 510 are connected to each other, the edge of the board 510 of the hinge coupler 511 (H) is not to fall from the hinge coupler (511) closure member 540 is coupled becomes”, page 6, see exploded view of FIG. 3 below), such that the adjacent panels can be moved through a plurality of joint positions (Kim, “The inner portion of the board 510 in accordance with the operation of the adjusting means 400 to a plurality of the board 510 can be smoothly flow from each other rotating part 530 is be installed… That is, the variable means to the board 510, 400 are connected as the cylinder 410 are each the board 510 by the rotary part 530 it is easily flow when operating smoothly the form of a climbing board 500 that can be varied”, pages 6-7); and a plurality of actuators (Kim, “adjusting means 400 is an electrical cylinder is connected to 410”, page 4), each actuator being operably connected with the adjustably-connected frame elements of adjacent panels and configured to move the frame elements about the adjustable connection until the adjacent panels reach a desired joint position (Kim, “The adjusting means 400 is an electrical cylinder is connected to 410, the cylinder 410 and the base plate 300, the fitting piece connecting unit 420 and the cylinder 410 and the climbing board to the control unit (C) It will include a fixing piece 430 for connecting the board 510 of 500. As shown in Figure 5 of the cylinder 410 is thereby electrically connected to the controller as (C) in accordance with the operation signal from the controller (C) to flow to the board 510 in the form of varying the climbing board 500”, page 4; The hinge couplers 511 of Kim are connected to each board 510, respectively, thereby showing each actuator being operatively connected with the adjustably-connected frame elements of the claimed invention as the electrical cylinders are each attached to the boards, respectively).
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Regarding claim 2, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein each frame element is adjustably connected with a frame element of an adjacent panel at each of a first end of the frame element and a second end of the frame element, such that a position of the panel relative to the adjacent panel at a first end of the joint may differ from a position of the panel relative to the adjacent panel at a second end of the joint (Kim, “The variable tilt angle changed and the difficulty of the climb using one of the sport climbing system according to the skill of the climber is able to change immediately”, page 8, see annotated FIG. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 3, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 2, wherein a first one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to a first end of the frame element and a second one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to a second end of the frame element, such that the joint position at the first end of the joint and the joint position at the second end of the joint may be independently selected (Kim; In light of the functional language of the claim, and in the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the citation of Kim above in claim 2 show these operable connections that allow for independent selection of joint positions).
Regarding claim 4, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein the adjustably-connected frame elements are (i) pivotable relative to one another, such that an angle between the adjacent panels may be varied (Kim, “The variable tilt angle changed and the difficulty of the climb using one of the sport climbing system according to the skill of the climber is able to change immediately”, page 8) and (ii) slidable relative to one another, such that a distance between the adjacent panels can be varied (Kim, see FIG. 3 below; The hinge couplers of each board are slidably engaged with adjacent couplers of adjacent boards and secured to one another by sliding the hinge (h), or rod seen below, into the hinge couplers. The distance between the adjacent panels therefore varies as they may pivot with each other along the connected hinge couplers).
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Regarding claim 5, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall of claim 4, wherein the frame element of a first panel is adjustably connected with the frame element of a second panel by at least two adjustable connectors (Kim, see annotated FIG. 3 above in claim 4; There are 5 hinge connectors seen on each edge of each board 510, thereby showing at least two adjustable connectors of the claimed invention).
Regarding claim 6, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall of claim 5, wherein a first adjustable connector is positioned at a first end of the frame elements of the first and second panels and a second adjustable connector is positioned at a second end of the frame elements of the first and second panels (Kim, see annotated FIGS. 2-3 below).
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Regarding claim 7, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall of claim 6, wherein a first one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to the first end of the frame elements of the first and second panels and a second one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to the second end of the frame elements of the first and second panels, such that the distance between the adjacent panels at the second end may be controlled to be greater or less than the distance between the adjacent panels at the first end (Kim, see annotated FIG. 2 above; In the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the boards and electrical cylinders of Kim shows the arrangement of the plurality of actuators of the claimed invention with the frame elements and the panels of the claimed invention).
Regarding claim 8, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall of claim 4, wherein the adjacent panels may be brought to (i) an angle of about 180 degrees; (ii) one or more angles less than 180 degrees; and (iii) one or more angles greater than 180 degrees (Kim, “each of the board 510 is in a different operation mode of the climbing board 500 The variable tilt angle changed and the difficulty of the climb using one of the sport climbing system according to the skill of the climber is able to change immediately”, page 8, see FIG. 2 above in claim 1 and FIG. 4 below; In the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the boards of Kim are shown to be flat with each other, tilted inwards towards the support 200 and tilted outwards away from the support 200, thereby showing an angle of about 180 degrees; (ii) one or more angles less than 180 degrees; and (iii) one or more angles greater than 180 degrees of the claimed invention).
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Regarding claim 10, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein the adjacent panels are separated by a gap, a width of which varies within a permissible range, and further comprising one or more barrier elements, each barrier element being configured to span the gap between adjacent panels at all widths within the permissible range (Kim, “End that is hinge fitted to the hinge coupler (511) when being the board 510 are connected to each other, the edge of the board 510 of the hinge coupler 511 (H) is not to fall from the hinge coupler (511) closure member 540 is coupled becomes. In this case, the closure member 540 is able to be coupled by screwing to the hinge coupler system 511 or combined with the rubber seal of elastic material”, page 8; The closure member 540 of Kim shows the barrier element of the claimed invention)).
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Regarding claim 11, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 10, wherein the barrier element is made of an elastomeric material (Kim, “In this case, the closure member 540 is able to be coupled by screwing to the hinge coupler system 511 or combined with the rubber seal of elastic material”).
Regarding claim 12, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 10, wherein the barrier element has a slidable connection with at least one of the adjacent panels (Kim, “In this case, the closure member 540 is able to be coupled by screwing to the hinge coupler system 511 or combined with the rubber seal of elastic material”; In the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the closure member being screwed to the hinge couplers of adjacent boards of Kim, which are also slidable connected with each other, thereby show the barrier of the claimed invention having a slidable connection with at least one of the adjacent panels).
Regarding claim 13, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the panels is polygonal (Kim, “the board 510 is provided to function as a climbing board 500 of the adjusting means (400) is formed in a triangular shape so as to be varied in a variety of forms or installation in the form of a hexagonal honeycomb shape”, page 7; The boards of Kim are shown to by triangular which is polygonal).
Regarding claim 14, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 16, wherein each of the panels is triangular (Kim, “the board 510 is provided to function as a climbing board 500 of the adjusting means (400) is formed in a triangular shape so as to be varied in a variety of forms or installation in the form of a hexagonal honeycomb shape”).
Regarding claim 15, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 13, in which at least one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to a corner of each panel (Kim, see FIG. 2 below; In the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the connection between the boards of Kim and the electrical cylinders of Kim shows at least one of the plurality of actuators of the claimed invention being operably connected to a corner of each panel of the claimed invention).
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Regarding claim 16, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 15, wherein at least one of the plurality of actuators is operably connected to the frame elements of at least four different panels (Kim, see annotated FIG. 2 below; As each of the boards of Kim as 5 hinge couplers along each edge, in the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim, the electrical cylinder being connected to a board of Kim is also connected to 3 adjacent boards of Kim, thereby showing at least one of the plurality of actuators being operably connected to the frame elements of at least four different panels of the claimed invention).
Regarding claim 17, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the surface elements is configured to receive one or more climbing grips (Kim, “the board 510 has a hand being climber to climb to climbing hold 550 is held in the hold groove connection 512 will also be formed on the board is fixed to the bolt (510)”, page 7).
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Regarding claim 18, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of actuators is a linear actuator (Kim, “The adjusting means 400 is an electrical cylinder”, page 4).
Regarding claim 19, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of actuators is operable to produce a climbing surface having a desired topography (Kim, “In the operation of the cylinder 410, the board 510 to each other are different from each other is that the operation of the overall shape of the climbing board 500 is variable”, page 7, see FIG. 4 above in claim 8).
Regarding claim 20, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall assembly of claim 1, wherein the climbing surface is substantially continuous regardless of the topography (Kim, “the climbing board described below is installed in a plurality (500) each of the board 510”, page 4, see FIG. 1 below).
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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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (Korean Patent Publication No. KR101561079B1).
Regarding claim 9, Kim shows the adjustable-topography climbing wall of claim 4, including the panels.
Kim fails to explicitly show wherein the distance between the adjacent panels may be varied by at least two inches.
However, Kim discloses in page 7, “In the operation of the cylinder 410, the board 510 to each other are different from each other is that the operation of the overall shape of the climbing board 500 is variable”, see annotated FIG. 2 below.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have specified a minimum range of distance between adjacent panels as it is well known in the art to provide ranges and dimensions for variable mechanisms. Furthermore, in page 18 of the specification, the distance between the first and second panels “The amount to which adjacent surface panels 20 can be slide toward and/or away from one another will depend on the minimum and maximum distance, respectively, to which the frame element 122 of the first panel and the frame element 222 of the second panel may be brought, which in turn may depend on the length of the adjustable connector(s) 40 (and more specifically the shaft length of shoulder bolt 44 and/or end rod bolt 45)” The fully extended rod of the electrical cylinder of Kim is shown to be larger than the length of an edge of a board of Kim. And although the dimensions of the boards of Kim are not explicitly disclosed, it would be obvious that the boards are larger than two inches, and therefore the extension of the rods of the electrical cylinders of Kim are larger than two inches, making it obvious to specify a minimum distance between two adjacent boards to be at least 2 inches).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to J NICOLE LOBERIZA whose telephone number is (571)272-4741. The examiner can normally be reached 8am - 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LoAn Jimenez can be reached at 571-272-4966. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JACQUELINE N L LOBERIZA/Examiner, Art Unit 3784