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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application Number: 18/409,573 filed on 1/10/24 has a total of 20 claims pending for examination; there are 3 independent claims and 17 dependent claims, of which only claims 1-12 are examined below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-12) in the reply filed on 11/18/25 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawing(s) have been reviewed by the examiner and are found comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.81 to 1.85.
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 “wherein, through said angle adjusting mechanism, said main sleeve is rotatably connected with said supporting platform” – see explanation below under the 112(b)/2nd paragraph rejection for cases where the main sleeve is connected through the supporting sleeve or through both of the supporting sleeve and supporting rod – 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph 4 of the specification recites “U.S. Patent No. 17885415” which doesn’t appear to be a valid U.S. Patent number.
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.
Claims 1-12 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
With regards to claim 1, lines 12-13 recites “wherein, through said angle adjusting mechanism, said main sleeve is rotatably connected with said supporting platform” which renders the claim indefinite. Lines 8-9 of the claim discloses the angle adjusting mechanism comprising two elements, a supporting sleeve and a supporting rod. As recited, it is not clear as to which element of the angle adjusting mechanism the main sleeve connects through. The claim language reads as if the main sleeve perhaps connects through the supporting sleeve or connects through the supporting rod or perhaps connects through both – the language isn’t clear. The main sleeve doesn’t appear to be shown to connect through both of said elements which make up the “angle adjusting mechanism”. Based on figures 2, 9 and 11 of the specification, the main sleeve appears to only connect through the supporting rod and not through the supporting sleeve. As such, lines 12-13 are being interpreted as “wherein, through said supporting rod, said main sleeve is rotatably connected with said supporting platform”.
With regards to claims 2-12, due to their direct or indirect dependence from claim 1, they suffer from the same deficiencies and are rejected under the same rationale.
With further regards to claims 3 and 5, the term “far away” (claim 3 line 2 and claim 5 line 2) is a relative term which render the claims indefinite. The term “far away” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term could be interpreted to mean at an opposite end within the context of the respective claims by one person and interpreted to mean adjacent to and not far away by another.
With regards to claims 4-12, due to their direct or indirect dependence from claim 3, they suffer from the same deficiencies and are rejected under the same rationale.
With regards to claims 6-12, due to their direct or indirect dependence from claim 5, they suffer from the same deficiencies and are rejected under the same rationale.
Due to the vagueness and a lack of clear definiteness in the claims, the claims have been treated on their merits as best understood by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With regards to claim 1, the prior art of record alone or in combination fails to teach or fairly suggest wherein, through said angle adjusting mechanism, said main sleeve is rotatably connected with said supporting platform, and said supporting rod is detachably connected with said height adjusting mechanism by said first adjusting part, in combination with the other limitations found in the claim.
With regards to claims 2-12, due to their direct or indirect dependence from claim 1, they include allowable subject matter for at least the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20060076190 to Crain teaches a supporting rod [fig 2 elements 54, 58] is provided with a plurality of second locking holes [figs 2A-2B elements 66], and a supporting sleeve [fig 1 elements 26, 78] is sleeved on said supporting rod [fig 2 elements 54, 58] and is connectedly locked by an adjusting part [fig 2B elements 94].
US Patent Application Publication No. 20230049761 to Kasik teaches wherein said supporting rod [fig 6 element 85] is provided with a plurality of locking holes [fig 6 elements 89], and said supporting sleeve [fig 6 element 83] is sleeved on said supporting rod [fig 6 element 85] and is connectedly locked by a second adjusting part [fig 3 element 93 – paragraph 23].
US Patent No. 11,678,778 to Jin (hereinafter Jin) teaches a child toilet ladder [fig 1], comprising a ladder assembly [fig 1 elements 2-4] and a cushion assembly [fig 1 element 1], wherein said ladder assembly [fig 1 elements 2-4] comprises a supporting platform [figs 1, 3, 7 – element 4], a height adjusting mechanism [fig 4 elements 212, 213] and an angle adjusting mechanism [figs 3-5 elements 22, 211, 217]; and wherein said height adjusting mechanism [fig 4 elements 212, 213] comprises a main sleeve [figs 4, 5 - element 213] and a main rod [figs 4, 5 - element 212], wherein said main rod [figs 4, 5 - element 212] is provided with a plurality of first locking holes [fig 5 element 214], and said main rod [figs 4, 5 - element 212] is inserted into said main sleeve [figs 4, 5 - element 213] and connectedly locked by a first adjusting part [fig 5 element 216]; and wherein, said angle adjusting mechanism [figs 3-5 elements 22, 211, 217] comprises a supporting sleeve [figs 3-5 element 22] and a supporting rod [fig 5 element 211], said supporting sleeve figs 3-5 element 22] is detachably connected with said supporting platform [figs 1, 3, 7 – element 4], and a stable triangular structure is formed among said supporting platform [figs 1, 3, 7 – element 4], said height adjusting mechanism [fig 4 elements 212, 213] and said angle adjusting mechanism [figs 3-5 elements 22, 211, 217], and said cushion assembly [fig 1 element 1] is rotatably connected with said main rod [figs 4, 5 - element 212], so that said ladder assembly [fig 1 elements 2-4] and said cushion assembly [fig 1 element 1] are detachably connected [fig 1 element 1 and elements 2-4 as shown].
US Patent No. D1,023,257 to Wang teaches a child toilet ladder comprised of a ladder assembly and a cushion assembly.
US Patent No. D1,005,460 to Cai teaches a child toilet ladder comprised of a ladder assembly and a cushion assembly.
US Patent No. 5,341,899 to Casamento teaches a ladder that is able to pivot to different angles by having a lower brace that engages different locking holes.
US Patent No. 1,737,163 to Keppinger teaches a foldable child toilet ladder.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID E MARTINEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4152. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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, Daniel P Cahn can be reached on (571)270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
DEM
/DAVID E MARTINEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634