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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 6-8 and 12-14 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 6 recites the limitation "the connecting rod" in lines 7-8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the U-shaped connecting piece" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "said bottom frame" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "said bottom frame connector" in lines 4 and 6-7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "said bottom frame" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation " the U-shaped connecting piece " in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Van Den Bos (DE 202014100645 U1).
Consider Claim 1, Van Den Bos discloses a triple-crossed horizontal folding cart, comprising: a cart frame; wherein the cart frame comprises a frame body formed by a front wall (7), a rear wall (8), and two symmetrical side walls (11, 12); a chassis (9, 10) disposed at a bottom of the frame body; wherein a left end and a right end of the front wall being each provided with a wheel (13, 14); wherein a left end and a right end of the rear wall being each provided with a wheel (15, 16); wherein a front end and a rear end of the chassis are rotatably connected to the front wall and the rear wall respectively; wherein each of the side walls comprises a front cross tube (12), a middle cross tube (12) and a rear cross tube (12) all of which are rotatably connected in sequence (Figs. 2a, 2b); wherein a first and second straight tubes of each said cross tube are rotatably connected (Fig. 1); wherein an upper and lower sides of the front cross tube are rotatably connected to the front wall (7) and the chassis (9) respectively; and wherein an upper and lower sides of the rear cross tube are rotatably connected to the rear wall (8) and the chassis (10) respectively.
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) 2-6, 8-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Den Bos (DE 202014100645 U1) in view of Zhejiang (CN 214775987 U).
Consider Claim 2, Van Den Bos discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein the front wall comprises two vertical tubes (1b, 2b), a U-shaped upper horizontal tube (5, 1a, 2a) and a lower horizontal tube (9); wherein a first and second symmetrical bottoms of the U-shaped upper horizontal tube (13) are riveted to the two vertical tubes (11) respectively; and two free ends of the U-shaped upper horizontal tube are rotatably connected to said upper ends of the two front cross tubes (15) of the two side walls; and the lower horizontal tube (17) is fixed to said lower ends of the two vertical tubes (11); but does not disclose wherein the rear wall is identical in structure with the front wall.
Zhejiang discloses wherein the rear wall (5) is identical in structure with the front wall (4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to make the front and rear walls identical in order to reduce the number of different parts required for assembly.
Consider Claim 3, Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses a telescopic hand lever (Zhejiang, 8), wherein a lower end of the hand lever is rotatably connected to the lower horizontal tube (at 83).
Consider Claim 4, Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein the first straight tube (611) of the front cross tube or the rear cross tube is a a) long tube, or b) short tube, and is connected to the chassis; the second straight tube (611) of the front cross tube or the rear cross tube is a short tube, and is connected to the front wall (4) or the rear wall (5); wherein an upper section of the long tube (611) is riveted to the short tube (611).
Consider Claim 5, Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein the chassis comprises two bottom frames (71) and two bottom frame connectors (72), one side of one bottom frame and one side of the other bottom frame are riveted through the two bottom frame connectors, and the other side of one bottom frame and the other side of the other bottom frame are riveted to a lower end of the front wall (4) and a lower end of the rear wall (5) respectively.
Consider Claim 6, Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein each said bottom frame (71) comprises a long horizontal rod, a short horizontal rod and two side rods (Fig. 3), and front and rear ends of each said side rod are connected to the front wall or the rear wall, and one said bottom frame connector respectively; two ends of the long horizontal rod are fixed to sides, close to the front wall or the rear wall, of the two side rods respectively, and two ends of the short horizontal rod are fixed to sides, close to the bottom frame connectors, of the two side rods respectively; and two ends of the connecting rod are fixed to a middle of the long horizontal rod and a middle of the short horizontal rod respectively.
Consider Claim 8 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein end faces of protrusions on left and right sides of the other bottom frame (71) are slopes, and sides, close to the U-shaped connecting piece, of the slopes are lower than sides, away from the U-shaped connecting piece, of the slopes.
Consider Claim 9 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein the wheels (31) are detachably connected to a bottom of the front wall or a bottom of the rear wall.
Consider Claim 10 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses comprising a cart cloth cover (2), wherein four upper edges of the cart cloth cover are installed on the two side walls, the front wall and the rear wall of the frame body, and a bottom of the cart cloth cover is in contact with a surface of the chassis.
Consider Claim 11 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein the first straight tube (611) of the front cross tube or the rear cross tube is a a) long tube, or b) short tube, and is connected to the chassis; the second straight tube (611) of the front cross tube or the rear cross tube is a short tube, and is connected to the front wall or the rear wall; wherein an upper section of the long tube is riveted to the short tube.
Consider Claim 12, , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein each said bottom frame (71) comprises a long horizontal rod, a short horizontal rod and two side rods, and front and rear ends of each said side rod are connected to the front wall or the rear wall, and one said bottom frame connector respectively; two ends of the long horizontal rod are fixed to sides, close to the front wall or the rear wall, of the two side rods respectively, and two ends of the short horizontal rod are fixed to sides, close to the bottom frame connectors, of the two side rods respectively; and two ends of the connecting rod are fixed to a middle of the long horizontal rod and a middle of the short horizontal rod respectively.
Consider Claim 13 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein each said bottom frame connector (72) comprises a U-shaped connecting piece which is open downward, and a rivet, one side of the U-shaped connecting piece is disposed around and fixed at ends of the side rods of one said bottom frame, through holes in a left-right direction are formed in two symmetrical walls on the other side of the U-shaped connecting piece, shaft sleeves are disposed on lower surfaces of ends of the side rods of the other bottom frame, and the rivet penetrates through the through holes and the shaft sleeves to rotatably connect the U-shaped connecting piece and the other bottom frame; when the short horizontal rod is pulled upward or downward, the ends of the side rods of the other bottom frame is separated from or inlaid in an opening of the U-shaped connecting piece, and the two bottom frames are folded or unfolded.
Consider Claim 14 , Van Den Bos, as modified, discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention, as described above, and further discloses wherein end faces of protrusions on left and right sides of the other bottom frame (71) are slopes, and sides, close to the U-shaped connecting piece, of the slopes are lower than sides, away from the U-shaped connecting piece, of the slopes.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although the prior art discloses all the limitations of the intervening claims the prior art does not disclose or render obvious, absent impermissible hindsight, these limitations in combination with wherein each said bottom frame connector comprises a U-shaped connecting piece (72) which is open downward, and a rivet, one side of the U-shaped connecting piece is disposed around and fixed at ends of the side rods of one said bottom frame, through holes in a left-right direction are formed in two symmetrical walls on the other side of the U-shaped connecting piece, shaft sleeves are disposed on lower surfaces of ends of the side rods of the other bottom frame, and the rivet penetrates through the through holes and the shaft sleeves to rotatably connect the U-shaped connecting piece and the other bottom frame; when the short horizontal rod is pulled upward or downward, the ends of the side rods of the other bottom frame is separated from or inlaid in an opening of the U-shaped connecting piece, and the two bottom frames are folded or unfolded as required by Claim 7.
Conclusion
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/BRYAN A EVANS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613