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 .
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.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-9) in the reply filed on 12/9/2025 is acknowledged.
Response to Amendment
The amendment to the claims filed 12/9/2025 has been entered:
Claims 5-7 and 10-23 are cancelled.
Claims 24-33 are new.
Claims 1-4, 8-9, and 24-33 are active.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/12/2024, 3/8/2024, 10/4/2024, and 11/19/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
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 external clamp interface of the barrel nut 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 specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 30 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 30, “forward face” in line 2 should be deleted.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 25, 29-31, and 33 is/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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitations “the rear end” (line 5) and “the front end of said bore” (lines 5-6). There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. A back end, not a rear end, was previously claimed. Additionally, the front end was previously claimed as a limitation of the barrel nut, not the longitudinally extending bore.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “the top” in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because a top of the barrel nut was not previously recited.
Claim 3 recites the limitations “the gas operating system” in line 2 and “a firearm” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. A gas operated rifle was previously recited in claim 1, while a gas operating system of a firearm was not, further rendering unclear whether the claimed firearm should refer to the previously claimed rifle.
Claim(s) 4 and 8-9 is/are rejected for depending from an indefinite claim.
Regarding claim 25, the metes and bounds of the limitation “and equivalents” in line 3 are unclear, thus rendering the claim indefinite.
Further regarding claim 25, the term “robust” in line 3 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “robust” 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. It is unclear from applicant’s specification and claims what would constitute a surface which is considered to be “robust” and what would not.
Claim 29 recites the limitation “a recessed fourth side” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 24 previously recited that the integral bushing is accommodated by a recessed portion of the fixture opening, the rendering unclear whether the claimed recessed fourth side of the fixture opening accommodating the integral bushing refers to the previously claimed recessed portion or to a new limitation.
Claim 30 recites the limitation “the fixture” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because a fixture opening was previously claimed, but a fixture was not.
Claim 31 recites the limitation “the piston assembly” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because a piston assembly was not previously claimed.
Claim 33 recites the limitations “the inner wall” (line 1) and “the receiver opening” (line 3). There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim because an inner wall and a receiver opening, respectively, were not previously claimed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 24, 26-28, and 32 is/are allowed.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 25, 29-31, and 33 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:
The closest prior art neither discloses, nor provides a teaching of obviousness, for a barrel nut assembly for connecting a firearm barrel to a receiver of a gas operated rifle, said barrel nut assembly comprising: a barrel nut which defines a generally longitudinally extending bore extending from a back end of said nut along a longitudinal axis to a front end of the nut, said bore having internal threads to be secured at the back end to an externally threaded front end part of the receiver, the front end of said barrel nut being configured to receive a rear end portion of the firearm barrel, said barrel nut further comprising a through bore separate from and parallel with the longitudinally extending bore, wherein a forward face of said barrel nut has an external structure configured to be captured within a fixture that rotationally restrains said barrel nut, wherein the external structure comprises a flange including at least three squared off sections; and a locknut having external threads that engage with the internal threads in the barrel nut bore, enabling the locknut to be threadedly received within and connected to the barrel nut, said locknut being configured to compressively engage and secure said firearm barrel in position against said receiver as the locknut is screwed into the barrel nut and tightened to a preset torque value, a rotational orientation of said barrel nut about the barrel being independent of torque applied to the locknut, as recited in independent claim 1.
Additionally, the closest prior art neither discloses, nor provides a teaching of obviousness, for a barrel nut assembly for connecting a firearm barrel to a receiver of a gas-operated rifle, the barrel nut assembly comprising: a barrel nut having a longitudinally extending threaded bore configured to be secured to an externally threaded front end part of the receiver and to receive a rear end portion of the firearm barrel; and an integral bushing on an exterior of the barrel nut defining a through bore separate from and substantially parallel to the threaded bore, the through bore aligned to pass an operating rod into the receiver, wherein a forward face of the barrel nut includes an exterior flange having at least three squared-off sections configured to render the forward face essentially square for capture by a fixture opening that restrains rotation of the barrel nut during installation while the integral bushing remains accommodated by a recessed portion of the fixture opening, as recited in independent claim 24.
Conclusion
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 25, 29-31, and 33 is/are rejected.
Claim(s) 24, 26-28, and 32 is/are allowed.
Claim(s) 5-7 and 10-23 is/are cancelled.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN S GOMBERG whose telephone number is (571)272-4802. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Troy Chambers can be reached at (571)272-6874. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Troy Chambers/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3641
/BENJAMIN S. GOMBERG/
Examiner
Art Unit 3641