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 .
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use. In the instant application, the Examiner suggests including section (j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION and separating the reference numerals from the BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION and placing those paragraphs into the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
With respect to line 1 of claim 1, “comprising of wheel adapters” should be changed to --comprising wheel adapters--.
With respect to line 2 of claim 1, “and spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve.” should be changed to --and a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve.--.
In line 2 of claim 2, “ordinary” should be changed to --conventional--.
In lines 1-2 of claim 4, “wherein a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve” should be changed to --wherein the spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve--.
With respect to line 1 of claim 5, “comprising of wheel adapters” should be changed to --comprising wheel adapters--.
With respect to line 2 of claim 5, “and spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve.” should be changed to --and a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve.--.
In line 2 of claim 6, “ordinary” should be changed to --conventional--.
In lines 1-2 of claim 8, “wherein a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve” should be changed to --wherein the spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oxford (US 5,303,945) in view of Lakhman (US 7,416,257).
With respect to claim 1, Oxford discloses a wheelchair attachment for locomotion comprising of wheel adapters (36) and handles (72, 72’) that may be connected together with an inverted U-shaped member (74) for additional assistance, but Oxford does not disclose that the handles are adjustable or a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve that connects the handles together. Lakhman, however, discloses the use of a spring-loaded (11) cylindrical handle sleeve (9) that may connect two arm portions (4) together (Fig 2a). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was filed to modify the invention of Oxford in view of the teachings of Lakhman to have the inverted U-shaped member (74) comprise a spring-loaded cylindrical sleeve separating the two handles (72, 72’) in order to provide an adjustability for the handles in a lateral direction to fit users of different sizes (column 2, lines 19-22; adjustable depending on the width of a person’s pelvis).
With respect to claim 2, wherein the wheel adapters are affixed to an ordinary wheelchair’s wheels (column 3, lines 4-7).
With respect to claim 3, wherein the adjustable handles are able to be extended or retracted to accommodate users of different sizes and to allow easier entrance and egress from the wheelchair (column 2, lines 19-22 of Lakhman; adjustable depending on the width of a person’s pelvis, and the additional width provides easier entrance and egress).
With respect to claim 4, wherein a spring-loaded cylindrical handle sleeve is removably coupled to both adjustable handles so that the user may use both handles at the same time with a single arm (inverted U-shaped member 74 allows person to operate wheelchair with one arm; column, 4, lines 14-16 of Oxford; and as modified by Lakhman, sleeve 9 may be removably coupled to adjust the width while still allowing one arm control).
With respect to claims 5-8, the apparatus disclosed above meets the method limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DREW J BROWN whose telephone number is (571)272-1362. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday.
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, Paul Dickson can be reached on 571-272-7742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
DREW BROWN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3616
/DREW J BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3614