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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendments to the claims received on August 5th, 2025 have been entered. Claims 1, 2, 6, 8-11, 13, 15, and 17 have been amended, claims 3-5, 7, 12, 16, and 18 have been added, and claims 21-27 have been canceled. The 35 USC § 112(b) rejections filed on May 5th, 2025 have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10, and 17 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.
Applicant argues, regarding claims 1, 10, and 17, that Russo (US 11,130,653 B1) discloses that the edges of the two portions of second end 18 of case 10, on either side of notch 13, are disposed in the same plane as bottom 14 of case 10 and that said edges cannot be characterized as “two or more outwardly extending protuberances”, as per the amended claims. The applicant states that because the notches of Russo are co-planer with bottom 14, they do not protrude from anything. The examiner notes that one skilled in the art may define an outwardly extending protuberance as any projection, comprising any shape, which extends from a surface. In this instance the previously filed Office Action states that “Fig. 6 depicts winding arm 32 located in notch 13 which is between two protuberances” (see pg. 4 of the Office Action). The examiner merely intended to indicate the location of the winding arm which is where notch 13 is located. In image 1 below, the examiner points to the ends of the winding and storage device. These ends are what one skilled in the art may define as protuberances as they extend from a side and wherein the winding arm 34 rests. To further clarify, the notch 13 is not the perturbances but rather the ends
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[AltContent: textbox (Image 1: Depicting the examiners indication of protuberances in figure 6 of Russo)]that extend from the side and bottom of the device.
Applicant further argues that storage area 32 cannot be characterized as a side wall of Russo and thus opening 42 of storage area 32 is not present in bottom 14, which is depicted as a side wall. While the examiner agrees, it should be noted that when orienting the device 100 in any direction, any one of the external sides may be considered a “side wall”. In this instance, the examiner has clarified that the portion above second end 18 of Russo is intended to correspond to a side wall (see image 2 below for clarification). As best depicted in figures 23-25, the second end 18 comprises a case strap opening 27, corresponding to a slot, in which the strap is conveyed. For simplicity’s sake, the examiner shall refer to the boxed element below as second end 18.
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[AltContent: textbox (Image 2: Side wall depicted by dashed box on figure 4 of Russo)]Finally, applicant argues that the features of Russo do not prevent the rotation of handle 52. The examiner points to the previous indication of where the protuberances are located in image 1. The examiner further points to column 4, lines 31 to 38 wherein the storing of the handle and said rotational prevention of said handle 52 are described. The Office Action has been updated to clarify the rejections of the previously presented Office Action as well as update the rejections based off of the applicant’s amended claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 6, 8-10, 17, 21, 24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Russo (US 11,130,653 B1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Russo discloses a strap container configured to removably store a strap, the strap container (Col. 1, Ln. 42-47) comprising a housing defining (Col. 3, Ln. 4-7 & Fig. 1, case 10) a compartment configured to store at least an end of the strap (Col. 3, Ln. 7-11 & Fig. 1 storage area 32), the housing having a sidewall (Col. 3, Ln. 32-34 & Fig. 1, second end 18) in which two or more outwardly extending protuberances (Fig. 1 depicting notch 13 formed between two walls corresponding to outward protuberances of second end 18) and one or more slots configured to allow the strap to pass through (Col. 4, Ln. 46-48 & Fig. 16, strap opening 27), a winding assembly rotatably coupled to and extending through an aperture in a base wall of the housing, said base wall being perpendicular to the sidewall (Fig. 14, winding arm 34, lip 47, hinge 48, case 10, second end 18), the winding assembly including a strap coupling mechanism configured to removably secure the end of the strap within the compartment (Fig. 2, winder 34), a handle exterior to the compartment, the handle including a protrusion (Fig. 1, winding arm 34), wherein the handle is operable to switch between a deployed position (deployed position depicted in Fig. 8) and a stowed position (stowed position depicted in Fig. 6 and in Col. 4, Ln. 51-52), wherein in the deployed position the winding assembly can be wound to retract the strap or unwound to deploy the strap (Col. 3, Ln. 20-27 & Col. 6, Claims 6 & 7), and in the stowed position the protrusion of the handle is configured to reside between two protuberances of the two or more protuberances of the side wall of the housing (Fig. 6 depicts winding arm 34 located between two protuberances extending from the sides of second end 18), such that rotation of the winding assembly is prevented by the protuberances (Col. 4, Ln. 31-38 & 51-52).
Regarding claim 6, Russo discloses wherein the winding assembly further comprises a base, the strap coupling mechanism extending from an interior wall of the base (Fig. 11, bottom 14, storage area 32) wherein the strap coupling mechanism comprises at least two securing planes (Col. 4, Ln. 51-52 & Fig. 1 depicting slot 17 having openings with two planes).
Regarding claim 8, Russo discloses wherein the housing further comprises a fastener coupled to a wall of a back cover segment of the housing, wherein the wall of the back cover segment is parallel to the base wall of the housing (Fig. 11, swivel rod 46 acting as a fastener for storage area 32).
Regarding claim 9, Russo discloses wherein the housing comprises a front cover segment and a back cover segment, each cover segment having a perimeter wall, wherein each perimeter wall of each the front and back cover segments includes two or more protuberances that extend outwardly from the perimeter wall, such that when the front cover segment is coupled to the back cover segment, their respective perimeter walls substantially align to form the sidewall of the housing and the respective protuberances of the front and back cover segments also substantially align (best depicted in Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 17, Russo discloses a method for removably storing a strap (Col. 1, Ln. 42-47), the method comprising passing an end of the strap through a first gap in a strap coupling mechanism configured to removably secure at least the end of the strap within a first cover segment, the first cover segment having a first slit (Col. 3, Ln. 17-40), wrapping the strap around the strap coupling mechanism (Col. 4, Ln. 31-38), passing the strap through a second gap in the strap coupling mechanism (Col. 4, Ln. 39-43),passing the strap through the first slit (Col. 4, Ln. 46-50), fastening a second cover segment to the first cover segment to form a housing for storing at least the end of the strap (Fig. 3, top 12), the housing including a sidewall in which two or more outwardly extending protuberances are formed, the first slit being disposed on the sidewall (Fig. 1 & 16 depicting opening 27formed between two walls corresponding to outward protuberances of second end 18), winding a handle of a winding assembly that is coupled to the strap coupling mechanism to retract the strap into the housing, the handle having a protrusion (Col. 4, Ln. 14-30), and preventing deployment or retraction of the strap from the housing by placing the protrusion of the handle between the two or more protuberances of the housing, such that rotation of the winding assembly is prevented by the protuberances (stowed position depicted in Fig. 6 and in Col. 4, Ln. 31-38 & 51-52).
Regarding claims 21 and 27, Russo discloses wherein the base wall of the housing is substantially circular in shape and the sidewall forms a circumference of the housing (Fig. 4 depicting a circular shaped portion of the second end 18).
Regarding claims 24 and 25, Russo discloses wherein when in the stowed position, the protrusion of the handle of the winding assembly engages an exterior of the sidewall, and is exterior to the housing when disposed between the protuberances formed in the sidewall (stowed position depicted in Fig. 6 and in Col. 4, Ln. 31-38 & 51-52).
Regarding claim 26, Russo discloses wherein the housing of the strap container further comprises a clip coupled to a wall of a back cover segment of the housing, wherein the wall of the back cover segment is parallel to the base wall of the housing, such that when the strap is in use to secure cargo during transport, the strap container is configured to be clipped to the strap using the clip (Col. 3, Ln. 34-40).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 11, 13-15, 19-20, and 22-23 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 2, 11, and 19 are allowable because it includes the limitation of winding assembly having a hinge comprising at least three detents, in combination with the other elements recited in the claims. Dependent claims 13-15 and 20 are also distinguished from the prior art as they further limit the claim in which they depend in a way that is not taught or suggested by the prior art.
Claim 22 is allowable because it includes the limitation of a strap container wherein the two or more protuberances formed in the sidewall of the housing comprise a plurality of protuberances that are evenly spaced about the circumference of the sidewall, in combination with the other elements recited in claim 22. While the primary art reference does disclose protuberances on the protuberance, they are not evenly spaced about the circumference but rather on a linear surface.
Claim 23 is allowable because it includes the limitation of a strap container wherein the two or more protuberances formed in the sidewall of the housing provide a graspable surface for a user to hold the strap container when turning the handle in the deployed position, in combination with the other elements recited in claim 23. While other the feature exists within the art, it would not be obvious to modify or incorporate such a feature into the primary art reference as it would require hindsight reasoning and doing so may limit the intended purpose of the prior art.
None of the references of the prior art teach or suggest the elements of the device as advanced above and such do not provide the necessary motivation, absent applicant's specification, for modifying the device in the manner required by the claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERMIA E MELIKA whose telephone number is (571)270-5162. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
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, Victoria P. Augustine can be reached at (313) 446-4858. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERMIA E. MELIKA/Examiner, Art Unit 3654
/VIVEK D KOPPIKAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3612
May 27, 2026
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