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 § 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 11 is 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 11 recites: “wherein the storage bag is detachably connected to the vertical rods to form a storage assembly, and the wheel frame assembly is able to be placed in the storage assembly after being folded.”
The storage assembly is not understood. Applicant’s disclosure suggests that the storage assembly in shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 14 shows the vertical rods and crossed drawing rods in an unfolded state, with the storage bag in place/attached to the vertical rods, and the wheel frame assembly folded and able to be placed inside. How does the storage bag detach from the vertical rods? Is detachment of the storage bag from the vertical rods necessary to form the storage assembly?
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 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jin (US 9,056,621).
Regarding claim 1, Jin teaches: a foldable cart, comprising:
a handle assembly (A) having an upper end and a lower end;
a foldable cart frame having a front side and a rear side, comprising four vertical rods (B) each having a bottom end, and a wheel frame assembly (including at least elements 231, 232, and wheel brackets C);
a plurality of wheels (D) connected to the wheel frame assembly;
a storage bag (1; best shown in Fig. 1) connected to the foldable cart frame;
wherein,
the bottom end of each vertical rod is connected to the wheel frame assembly, two of the four vertical rods form a frontal pair of vertical rods and are located at the front side of the foldable cart frame and the other two of the four vertical rods form a rear pair of vertical rods and are located at the rear side of the foldable cart frame, both the frontal pair and rear pair of vertical rods are connected to a corresponding pair of crossed rotatable drawing rods (E) such that the vertical rods of each pair can move closer to or further away from each other;
the wheel frame assembly having four corners (wheel bracket C at each corner) is in an X-shaped foldable structure (the X shape is primarily formed by elements 231), the bottom end of each vertical rod is connected to one of each of the four corners of the wheel frame assembly, and the cart frame is capable of being folded or opened through folding or opening of the wheel frame assembly (folding capability is described at least in the Abstract);
each wheel is mounted under a corresponding corner of the wheel frame assembly, the storage bag is connected to the four vertical rods, the handle assembly is arranged at the front or rear side of the cart frame, and, the lower end of the handle assembly is rotatably connected to the bottom ends of the two vertical rods on the corresponding side of the cart frame and is foldable with the two vertical rods. See Fig. 1, and the annotated version of Fig. 2, below.
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Regarding claim 11, Jin further teaches: wherein the storage bag is detachably connected to the vertical rods (see the attachment at element 13 in Fig. 1) to form a storage assembly, and the wheel frame assembly is able to be placed in the storage assembly after being folded. With the storage bag removed and the frame folded, the entire frame may be placed into the storage bag. See Fig. 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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:
Claim 2 describes features of the wheel frame assembly, which are not disclosed by Jin.
A cart having a relevant wheel frame assembly is disclosed by Dolge (US 1,919,103)
Dolge teaches: a foldable cart wherein a wheel frame assembly comprises an upper nest (30), a lower nest (31), four long rods (34) each having a first end, a second end and a middle portion, four corresponding additional rods (33) having a first end and a second end; the first end of each long rod is pivotally attached to the upper nest, the second end of each corresponding additional rod is pivotally attached to the lower nest, and each wheel is mounted on the bottom of a corresponding joint. See Figs. 1-4.
In Dolge, the additional rods appear to be approximately the same length as the long rods (34), so they would not reasonably be interpreted to be “short rods” as claimed. Dolge also fails to disclose four support rods and the associated pivotal connections between the rods. It would be unobvious to modify Jin to include features of the wheel frame assembly from Dolge, and then further modify the combination reach the invention described by claim 2.
Claims 3-10 would be allowable at least because they depend from claim 2.
None of the prior art, alone or in combination, anticipates or renders obvious the subject matter of claims 2-10. To modify any of the prior art of record to arrive at the invention set forth by claims 2-10 would be unobvious and improper hindsight.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional prior art of record relates to carts and wagons having frames and other features relevant to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMMA K FRICK whose telephone number is (571)270-5403. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M, T, F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4324. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EMMA K FRICK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613