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 .
This office action is in response to the amendment filed 22 July 2026, in which claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11-21, 25, 30, and 31 were amended and claim 26 was canceled.
Priority
An updated filing receipt reflecting Applicant’s filing date of 12 December 2023 was mailed on 12 August 2026. Accordingly, Applicant’s claim of domestic priority to provisional application No. 63/387,063, which was filed 12 December 2022, is within the acceptable 12-month window.
Drawings
The replacement drawings were received on 22 July 2026. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claims 14, 15, 17, and 28 are objected to because of the following informalities. Examiner suggests the changes below:
“particular pickup truck make and model” be changed to --a particular pickup truck make and model-- (claim 14, lines 2-3);
“is for one of…” be changed to --is one of…-- (claim 15, line 2), since the make/model is one of the listed makes/models, rather than being for one of the listed makes/models;
“is used a benchmark” be changed to --is used as a benchmark-- (claim 17, line 4);
“is used a benchmark” be changed to --is used as a benchmark-- (claim 17, line 6);
“open bearing aperture” be changed to --open a bearing aperture-- (claim 28, lines 3-4).
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 12, 13, 15, 21, and 25 are 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 12 recites the limitation "the one or more features" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may be able to overcome this rejection by changing claim 12 to depend from claim 11, or by amending the claim language.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the one or more features" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may be able to overcome this rejection by changing claim 13 to depend from claim 11, or by amending the claim language.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the particular pickup truck make and model" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may be able to overcome this rejection by changing claim 15 to depend from claim 14, or by amending the claim language.
Claim 21 recites the limitation "the stop" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may be able to overcome this rejection by changing claim 21 to depend from claim 20, or by amending the claim language.
Claim 25 recites the limitation "the coil spring biasing member" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant may be able to overcome this rejection by removing “biasing member” from "the coil spring biasing member", and rephrasing to read --the coil spring--.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11, 14, 16-20, 22-24, and 27-32 are allowed.
Claims 12, 13, 15, 21, and 25 appear to be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the allowable subject matter of claims 1 and 9 is the lift ramp shiftable relative to the driver side and passenger side rails between transition and locked positions, in combination with other features of claims 1 and 9, respectively. Copp et al. (US 6321819 B1) and Copp et al. (US 9296285 B2) each disclose a retractable cover system comprising panels, bearings, driver side and passenger side rails, and lift ramps that work in a similar manner with respect to the bearings, but neither reference discloses the lift ramp shiftable relative to the driver side and passenger side rails between transition and locked positions.
Response to Arguments
In regards to Applicant's arguments filed 22 July 2026, some claim objections and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections were not addressed in the amendment. In addition, the amendment presented a new claim objection and new claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as set forth above.
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 LAURA FREEDMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2442. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm.
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, Jason Shanske can be reached at 571-270-5985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA FREEDMAN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3614
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