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
Examiner’s Comments
This action is in response to applicant’s election received 5/26/2026.
Applicant elected Group I, drawn to a mounting apparatus having locking pins and a rotatable handle that moves the locking pins without traverse.
The pending claims remain 1-20; however, claims 9-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
The Examiner notes that the office action below may reference support found in the cited prior art by indicating element numbers, figures or by pointing out a specific paragraph (PAR) number in which support can be found. The PAR number referenced corresponds to paragraph number beginning in the "Detailed Description" of the disclosure unless otherwise noted.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 6, 8, 15, 18, 20, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 6,758,380 to Kolda.
With regard to claim 1, a mounting apparatus (32, figs. 3-8), comprising: one or more locking pins (48, 70); one or more links (108); and a handle (90) configured to rotate and pivot, wherein rotation of the handle moves the one or more links to rotate the one or more locking pins into a blocking position relative to a mounting structure, and pivoting of the handle moves the locking pins toward the handle and into a locked position (handle 90 both rotates and pivots).
With regard to claim 3, wherein the one or more locking pins are slidable relative to an actuator (72) to abut against the mounting structure (pins 48, 70, slide relative to mount body 18).
With regard to claim 6, further comprising: an actuator (72) coupled to the handle (90) and the one or more links (48, 70, see fig. 8).
With regard to claim 8, wherein the actuator (72) comprises: an actuator receptacle (88), wherein the actuator receptacle is rotatable relative to a housing (88 rotates relative to housing when handle 90 is rotated).
With regard to claim 15, a mounting apparatus (32, figs. 3-8), comprising: an actuator (82); a handle (90) pivotably coupled to the actuator; and one or more locking pins (48, 70) comprising one or more flange sections (76), wherein: rotation of the handle rotates the one or more flange sections of the one or more locking pins, and pivoting of the handle slides the one or more locking pins.
With regard to claim 18, further comprising: a plate (108) disposed at least partially between the actuator (82) and the one or more locking pins (48, 70).
With regard to claim 20, wherein at least one of the one or more flange sections(76) comprises a curved outer edge (see fig. 8).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-5, 7, 16-17, 19, are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but appear to be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to attachment (PTO-892) for notice of references cited and recommended for consideration based on their disclosure of limitations of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian Nash whose telephone number is 571-272-4465. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at 571-272-4544. The official fax number for this Group is: 571-273-8300; Inventor Assistance Center is 800-786-9199.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system; see www.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/BRIAN D NASH/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
7/27/2026
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