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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments, filed 8th June 2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-6, 9-10, and 14-19 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejection, necessitated by amendment, are made as seen below.
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments, filed 8th June 2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-6, 9, 14, 16-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20120031714 A1) in view of Lan (US 20070045055 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Chen discloses a movable frame (200'), comprising: a frame body comprising a transverse tube (14); two wheels (12) rotatably connected to two ends of the transverse tube (14), respectively; and a brake mechanism (100), comprising: a brake driving member (114) configured to fit over the transverse tube (14); and a brake pedal (110), wherein the brake pedal (110) is detachably connected to the brake driving member (114) (see Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 16).
Chen does not explicitly disclose wherein when the two wheels are rotatably connected to the two ends of the transverse tube, the brake pedal is detachable from the brake driving member.
Lan teaches a movable frame (3) with a brake pedal (54) wherein the brake pedal (54) is detachably connected to the brake driving member (52), wherein when the two wheels (6) are rotatably connected to the two ends of the transverse tube (41), the brake pedal is detachable from the brake driving member (see Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6). Fig. 6 explicitly details a screw and split of the brake pedal (54) such that it can be detached while the transverse tube is attached to the wheels.
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention, to configure the pedal of Chen to be split along an axial direction, as taught by Lan, in order to make repairs, assembly, manufacturing, and disassembly (in the situation of packing or folding the movable frame) easier by avoiding the disassembly of the entire tube, wheel, and axle assembly.
Regarding Claim 2, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the brake driving member (114) is configured to engage with the brake pedal (110) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 1, Fig. 2A).
Regarding Claim 3, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein one of the brake driving member (114) and the brake pedal (110) l has a male plug-in part (1124), and another of the brake driving member (114) and the brake pedal (110) has a female plug-in part (1142); and the male plug-in part (1124) is configured to engage with the female plug-in part (1142) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 3, Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 4, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the brake driving member has a rotation axis (A); the brake driving member (114) is configured to, when being driven by the brake pedal (110), rotate around the rotation axis; the brake pedal (110) comprises a pedal part (111) and an annular part (112); and the annular part (112) is configured to fit over the brake driving member (114) and move along the rotation axis to be detached from the brake driving member (114) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 2A, Fig. 2B, Fig. 8A).
Regarding Claim 5, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the annular part (112) and the brake driving member (114) engages with each other by a tight fit; or a rotation restricting mechanism (1143) is arranged between the annular part (112) and the brake driving member (114) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 3, Fig. 8A).
Regarding Claim 6, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the rotation restricting mechanism (113) is arranged between the annular part (112) and the brake driving member (114) (see Fig. 2A, Fig. 3), and the rotation restriction mechanism (113) comprises: a positioning rib (1133) extending along the rotation axis, and a positioning groove (A) (see Annotated Fig. 4 below) configured to engage with the positioning rib (1133); wherein the positioning rib (1133) is arranged on the inner wall of the annular part (112), and the positioning groove (A) is arranged on the outer periphery of the brake driving member (114) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Annotated Fig. 4 below).
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Annotated Fig. 4
Regarding Claim 9, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein an axial positioning mechanism (1124) is arranged between the annular part (112) and the brake driving member (114) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 3, Fig. 8A).
Regarding Claim 14, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the annular part (112) has a first circumferential position and a second circumferential position with respect to the brake driving member (114); the brake pedal (111) is configured to drive the brake driving member (114) to rotate when the annular part (112) is in the first circumferential position, and configured to rotate to a state of not protruding outwards when the annular part (112) is in the second circumferential position (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 8A, Fig. 8B, Fig. 15).
Regarding Claim 16, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the brake mechanism further comprises a fixing seat (100), a brake rod (1132) and a locking pin (1133), and the brake driving member (114) is operatively connected to the locking pin (1133) through the brake rod (1132) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 1, Fig. 6, Fig. 8A, Fig. 8C).
Regarding Claim 17, Chen modified by Lan teaches wherein the brake pedal (111) is configured to, after being detached from the brake driving member (114), be rotatably arranged on the transverse tube (14) (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 15, Fig. 16).
Regarding Claim 19 Chen, modified by Lan teaches a baby carrier, comprising the movable frame according to claim 1 (see US 20120031714 A1 [Chen]; Fig. 15, Fig. 16).
Claims 10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20120031714 A1) modified by Lan (US 20070045055 A1) as applied in Claim 1, above, further in view of Zhang (US 20130320641 A1).
Regarding Claim 10, Chen modified by Lan teaches the brake mechanism of Claim 9 and an axial positioning mechanism.
Chen modified by Lan does not teach wherein the axial positioning mechanism comprises: an elastic arm extending along the rotation axis, and a recess configured to engage with a protrusion arranged on the elastic arm; the protrusion is arranged on an end of the elastic arm; wherein the elastic arm is arranged on the brake driving member, and the recess is arranged on the annular part; or the recess is arranged on the brake driving member, and the elastic arm is arranged on the annular part.
Zhang teaches a movable frame wherein the axial positioning mechanism (71) comprises: an elastic arm extending (72) along the rotation axis, and a recess configured (52) to engage with a protrusion (71) arranged on the elastic arm (72); the protrusion (71) is arranged on an end of the elastic arm (72); wherein the elastic arm (72) is arranged on the brake driving member (4), and the recess is arranged on the annular part (5) (see Fig. 1, Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the invention, to combine the teachings of Zhang with the movable frame of Chen modified by Lan in order to provide a biasing force that pushes the protrusion into the recess, further securing the driving member and annular part (see US 20130320641 A1 [Zhang]; [0025-0026]).
Regarding Claim 13, Chen modified by Lan and Zhang teaches wherein the elastic arm (72) is arranged on the brake driving member (4), and the recess (52) is a through hole formed in the annular part (5) (see US 20130320641 A1 [Zhang]; Fig. 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 and 11-12 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding Claim 7, Chen does not disclose the multiple positioning ribs comprise a first positioning rib, a second positioning rib and a third positioning rib; and the first positioning rib, the second positioning rib and the third positioning rib are arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction, and configured to satisfy at least one of: (a) a width of the first positioning rib, a width of the second positioning rib and a width of the third positioning rib are unequal; and (b) a height of the first positioning rib, a height of the second positioning rib and a height of the third positioning rib are unequal. Claim 8 is allowed based on its dependance on an allowed Claim 7.
Regarding Claim 11, Chen does not disclose a guide groove configured to guide the elastic arm to slide, wherein: the guide groove is arranged on an inner wall of the annular part corresponding to the elastic arm arranged on the brake driving member; or the guide groove is arranged on an outer periphery of the brake driving member corresponding to the elastic arm arranged on the annular part. Claim 12 is allowed based on its dependence on an allowed Claim 11.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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 Shea Irvin whose telephone number is (571)272-9952. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 - 17:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Siconolfi can be reached at (571) 272-7124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.W.I./Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/NICHOLAS J LANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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