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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/05/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-5, 10-16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 202020000327 (herein referred to as 327) in view of US 20220325538 to Smith.
Regarding claim 1, 327 discloses:
A gate fastener (fig 1) for securing a double gate (9, 9), comprising: a pivotable body (1) that is fixable to a first gate (right 9 as seen in fig 3) about a pivot point (6) at its proximal end (fig 3), wherein the pivotable body comprises at least one recess (recess between both 3s) for receiving a gate rail (top left gate rail of 9 seen in fig 3) on a second gate (left 9 as seen in fig 3); wherein the pivotable body comprises at its distal end a locking pin (not shown, see paragraph 4 of the description of attached translation) and at least one aperture (3) on a side of the pivotable body (fig 2), the aperture retaining the locking pin(in the locked position), such that the locking pin is integrated within the pivotable body; and wherein: (a) in a first position (locked position), the locking pin spans the recess and directly contacts the gate rail to prevent movement of the gate rail out of the recess (when lock pin is inserted in the locked position), and (b) in a second position (fig 3), the locking pin is retracted from the recess such that a portion thereof is retained within the pivotable body without preventing movement of the gate rail out of the recess (when locking pin is retracted from one of the recesses).
327 does not explicitly disclose: wherein the locking pin comprises a head at a proximal end thereof, a neck, a main body, a collar, and a stop at a distal end thereof, wherein the neck and the collar are of smaller diameter than the head, the main body, and the stop; wherein the at least one aperture has a wide portion and a narrow portion, wherein the neck is of a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the narrow portion such that it slots into the narrow portion, and wherein the main body is of a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the narrow portion but smaller than the diameter of the wide portion, such that the locking pin is secured in the narrow portion;
However, Smith teaches that it is well known in the art for a locking pin (44) to comprise a head (46) at a proximal end thereof, a neck (44a), a main body (44), a collar (collar of 44a that connects to 46), and a stop (44b) at a distal end thereof, wherein the neck and the collar are of smaller diameter than the head, the main body, and the stop (fig 7); wherein the at least one aperture (23) has a wide portion (23c) and a narrow portion(23a), wherein the neck is of a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the narrow portion such that it slots into the narrow portion, and wherein the main body is of a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the narrow portion but smaller than the diameter of the wide portion, such that the locking pin is secured in the narrow portion (see figs 5 and 8); It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Smith into 327 at least because doing so would provide added flexibility of aligning and securing the locking pin in the desired position (see paragraph 0029).
Regarding claim 2, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1, wherein the locking pin is secured in the narrow portion on the side of the pivotable body, such that it cannot be freely protruded and/or retracted therethrough (in the locked position, see fig 8 of Smith).
Regarding claim 3, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1, wherein the pivotable body comprises at least two apertures that are aligned on either side of its recess (both 3s, see fig 2 of 327).
Regarding claim 4, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1, wherein only the wide portion is configured to permit movement of the locking pin between the first and second positions (paragraph 0029 of Smith).
Regarding claim 5, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1 wherein the narrow portion is provided below the wide portion, such that the locking pin falls into the first position in which it cannot be retracted or protruded without user intervention (fig 8, Smith) and wherein the main body of the locking pin abuts an internal recess-facing surface of the pivotable body (internal perimeter of the recess) at the location of the at least one aperture when the neck is positioned in the narrow portion, thereby preventing retraction of the locking pin (in the locked position).
Regarding claim 10, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1, wherein the locking pin further comprises a distal tip (tip of 44b, Smith) at a distal end of the stop.
Regarding claim 11, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
The gate fastener of claim 1 wherein the stop has a diameter greater than that of the at least one aperture and the stop prevents the locking pin from being removed from the pivotable body (see fig 8 of Smith).
Regarding claim 12, 327 in view of Smith discloses:
A gate comprising the gate fastener of claim 1 (fig 3, 327).
Regarding claims 13-16 and 19-20, although 327 in view of Smith doesn’t explicitly disclose the method of claims 13-16 and 19-20, 327 in view of Smith teaches the structure necessary for such method as rejected in claim 1-5 and 10-11 above. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to use the invention of 327 in view of Smith in the method of claims 13-16 and 19-20.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yahya Sidky whose telephone number is (571)272-6237. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine Mills can be reached at (571) 272-8322. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Y.S./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
/CHRISTINE M MILLS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675