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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 8 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 8 and 17 recite the “lower extension”, which lacks antecedent basis, however, the claims appear to further define the rear bumper of claims 7 and 16. The examiner has assumed claim 8 to depend upon claim 7, and claim 17 to depend upon claim 16. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-5, 10-14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Chi (US 6,484,472 B2).
With respect to claim 1, Chi discloses a corner protection system comprising an edge panel 2 for covering a corner, and left and right panels 111, 151 for covering the left and right side of the corner, as shown in figures 1 and 2.
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With respect to claim 2 and 11, Chi discloses said edge panel as able to fold between flat and right angle configurations, as shown in figure 1.
With respect to claims 3 and 12, Chi discloses relief slots 21, 22 in edge panel, as shown in figure 1.
With respect to claims 4 and 13, Chi discloses left and right rail panel sliders (not numbered), the six horizontal ridges are interpreted as “slider, as shown in figure 2.
With respect to claim 5 and 14, Chi discloses left and right panel anchors 20 for securing the left and right panels to the wall corner, as shown in figure 2.
With respect to claim 10, Chi discloses left and right overlaps 30, which overlap the left and right panels, respectively, as shown in figure 2.
With respect to claim 19, the limitations recited in this claim have all been addressed in the rejection of claims 2-5 and 11-14, see above.
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) 6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi, as applied to claims 1 and 10, and further in view of Berfield (US 4,621,849 A).
Chi does not disclose a front frame bumper. Berfield does disclose a cart 11 with front frame 28 with front bumper 51, as shown in figures 3 and 7. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the front bumper and cart system of Berfield with the corner protection system of Chi in order to prevent damage to a wall corner and/or a shopping cart frame.
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Claim(s) 7, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi, as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Nebolon et al. (US 7,225,903 B2).
Chi does not disclose a shopping cart with rear wheel bumper. Nebolon et al. does disclose a shopping cart 14 with rear wheel bumper 10, as shown in figure 4. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the rear wheel bumper on a cart of Nebolon et al. in combination with the corner protection system of Chi in order to protect the wall and cart from damage.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 9, 17, and 18 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.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY J RESTIFO whose telephone number is (571)272-6697. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-8pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, J. Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JEFFREY J. RESTIFO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3613
/JEFFREY J RESTIFO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613