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 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) 1-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20190365085 A1 to Goodwin.
Re Claim 1, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket (at least [Abstract] “suspension seat frame”) is characterized by comprising two brackets which are symmetrically arranged (at least Fig. 1 and [0026] “first and second cantilever arms 105a-b”) and connected with each other through a connecting horizontal pipe (at least Fig. 1 and [0028] “first footprint adjustment bar 115a”);
a hammock is installed between the brackets (at least [0038] “the ropes of a hammock which converge at the points of attachment to adjustable side clips”); the brackets on the two sides serve as two side supports for the hammock (at least Fig. 1 and [0038] “the ropes of a hammock which converge at the points of attachment to adjustable side clips 120a-b”);
each bracket comprises a connecting pipe group (9) (at least Fig. 1 and [0027] “a connection region 130”); a bracket side pipe is sleeved to each of the two lateral sides of the connecting pipe group (9); the opposite surfaces of the two connecting pipe groups (9) are used for connecting with the connecting horizontal pipe (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0028] “second cantilever arm 105b connects to a footprint adjustment bar (for example, first footprint adjustment bar 115a)”), and the top of each connecting pipe group (9) is used for connecting with a bracket vertical pipe (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0028] “a connection region 130 disposed at one end of second cantilever arm 105b”); a connecting piece (2) with height adjustment capability is installed on the bracket vertical pipe (at least Fig. 1 and [0026] “first and second adjustable side clips 120a-b”); the two sides of the hammock are connected with the connecting piece (2) (at least Fig. 1 and [0026] “the ends of a hammock or other suspension seat may be anchored to first and second adjustable side clips 120a-b”).
Re Claim 2, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 1 is characterized in that the connecting pipe group (9) comprises a first arc pipe (91) (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0032] “reinforcing gussets 150a-b”) and a second arc pipe (92) (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0029] “a transition region 135”), wherein the two ends of the first arc pipe (91) are downward (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0032] “feet 110a-110b are shown as being attached to reinforcing gussets 150a-b”); one end of the second arc pipe (92) is horizontal, and the other end is obliquely upward (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0029] “a transition region 135, wherein the centerline of the cantilever arm goes from being substantially parallel with first footprint adjustment bar 115a to being disposed at an angle (for example, 45 degrees) relative to the centerline of the cantilever arm”);
the first arc pipe (91) is erected at the upper part of the second arc pipe (92) (at least [0029] “one or more reinforcing gussets (for example, reinforcing gusset 150b) may be provided in transition region 135”); the first arc pipe (91) and the second arc pipe (92) are fixed to each other through welding (at least [0029] “transition region 135 may be an abrupt (e.g., a zero radius turn) change in direction, such as may be formed by a welded scarf joint”); the connecting horizontal pipe is spliced to the horizontal end of the second arc pipe (92); the bracket vertical pipe is spliced to the obliquely upward end of the second arc pipe (92); bracket side pipes are spliced to the two ends of the first arc pipe (91); the ends, far from the first arc pipe (91), of the bracket side pipes are supported on the ground (at least Fig. 1).
Re Claim 3, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 2 is characterized in that the bottoms of the bracket side pipes on the two sides form an included angle greater than 120 degrees after the bracket side pipes are spliced to the first arc pipe (91) (at least Fig. 1 and [0029] “a transition region 135, wherein the centerline of the cantilever arm goes from being substantially parallel with first footprint adjustment bar 115a to being disposed at an angle (for example, 45 degrees) relative to the centerline of the cantilever arm”. In other words, the total angle is 180-45=135 degrees, which is greater than 120 degrees).
Re Claim 4, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 3 is characterized in that a thread adjusting hole is formed in the bottom of the second arc pipe (92), wherein a threaded adjusting support is arranged in the threaded adjusting hole; the bottom of the threaded adjusting support (10) is used for supporting the bottom hollowed area of the bracket side pipe (at least Figs. 1-4 and [0051] “a threaded portion (for example, a threaded rod, a nut, or a region where the material of the first threaded member has been bent or formed to provide threads)”).
Re Claim 5, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of connecting holes (7) is formed in the bracket vertical pipe along the bracket vertical pipe, wherein the connecting piece (2) is installed in any of the connecting holes (7) in the bracket vertical pipe in a demountable manner (at least Figs. 1 and 6 and [0064] “adjustable side clip 600 operates as an attachment for one end of a suspension seat at one or more positions 609a and 609b”).
Re Claim 6, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 1 is characterized in that a supporting frame (1) is arranged at the top of the bracket vertical pipe (at least Fig. 1 and [0031] “cradle 125b”).
Re Claim 7, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 1 is characterized in that the bracket vertical pipe and the connecting horizontal pipe adopt hollow pipes (at least Figs. 1-3 and [0028] “constructed from a hollow section of metal tubing having a discorectangular, or obround, cross section”).
Re Claim 9, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim 1 is characterized in that the connecting horizontal pipe comprises a first connecting horizontal pipe and a second connecting horizontal pipe, wherein the first connecting horizontal pipe and the second connecting horizontal pipe are connected to each other through a second connecting sleeve and then are fixed to each other in a screw fastening manner (at least Fig. 3 element 305 and [0043] “a compression bushing 305 as part of the coupling between a first cantilever arm and a footprint adjustment bar. According to certain embodiments, compression bushing 305 acts as an interface between the metallic surfaces of the cantilever arm and the footprint adjustment bar, preventing loss of material from either component and preventing a metallic first cantilever arm from galling or otherwise becoming stuck to a metallic footprint adjustment bar”).
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goodwin in view of US 20220273090 A1 to Zhang.
Re Claim 8, Goodwin teaches:
A hammock bracket according to claim (at least ).
Goodwin does not explicitly teach:
is characterized in that the bracket vertical pipe comprises a first bracket vertical pipe and a second bracket vertical pipe, wherein the first bracket vertical pipe and the second bracket vertical pipe are connected with each other through a first connecting sleeve and then are fixed to each other in a screw fastening manner.
However, Zhang teaches:
is characterized in that the bracket vertical pipe comprises a first bracket vertical pipe (at least Fig. 1 element 3) and a second bracket vertical pipe (at least Fig. 1 element 2), wherein the first bracket vertical pipe and the second bracket vertical pipe are connected with each other through a first connecting sleeve and then are fixed to each other in a screw fastening manner (at least Fig. 1 element 22 and [0033] “connecting rod 2 (namely, the arrangement of the first extension portion 21 and the second extension portion 22), the bending process of the connecting rod 2 is convenient, and the overlapping length of the connecting parts where the bottom rod 1 is connected with the connecting rod 2 and the bottom rod 1 is connected with the suspension rod 3 is increased”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the hammock bracket taught by Goodwin with the vertical pipes taught by Zhang with a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so “to enhance the connection strength” (Zhang [0033]).
Conclusion
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/GEORGE SUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673