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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 18, 2023 and April 11, 2025 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The replacement drawings filed March 2, 2024 are accepted.
Abstract
The Abstract filed December 18, 2023 is accepted.
Specification
The specification filed December 18, 2023 has been entered.
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 – 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Allemand (US 6,868,616) in view of Zenke (US 3,327,395)
With respect to claim 1, Allemand discloses a masonry square comprising a generally isosceles right angle body (2) with two sides meeting at a right angle (where ends 8 and 12 meet) and a hypotenuse (30) opposite said right angle, and a top surface and a bottom surface, a side of said two sides is formed with a base (32), said body (2) is formed with an elongated notched slot (50) along the other side of said two sides, said top surface includes a marking PIVOT (9) at said right angle, said top surface and said bottom surface are both marked with protractor angles (42) along said hypotenuse, and a modular spacing rule (74) deployed along said base of one surface of said top surface and said bottom surface.
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Allemand does not disclose the oversized brick spacing rule or the standard brick spacing rule as recited in claim 1.
Zenke discloses a mason’s tool comprising an oversize brick spacing rule (Figure 8) deployed along the base and a standard brick spacing rule (Figure 7) deployed along said other side of said two sides on one surface in order to facilitate brick placement and spacing of successive rows of brick. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the masonry square disclosed by Allemand by adding oversize and standard brick spacing indicia, as taught by Zenke, in order to facilitate brick placement and spacing of successive rows of brick.
Referring to claim 2, Allemand sets forth a masonry square wherein said top surface includes said modular spacing rule. Zenke discloses the benefits of including various brick spacing rules along the edges of the tool to facilitate brick placement. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Allemand by providing said standard brick spacing rule along the top surface, since Allemand already teaches the benefits of providing various commonly used construction indicia.
In regards to claim 3, the combination of Allemand and Zenke teaches a masonry square wherein said top surface includes said modular spacing rule (74) and said standard rule (as modified above).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Allemand and Zenke shows a masonry square wherein said top surface includes said oversized brick spacing rule and said standard brick spacing rule (as modified above).
With regards to claim 5, the combination of Allemand and Zenke discloses a masonry square wherein said top surface includes said oversized brick spacing rule and said standard rule. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Allemand by providing said oversize brick spacing rule and standard rule along the top surface, since Allemand already teaches the benefits of providing various commonly used construction indicia.
Referring to claim 6, the combination of Allemand and Zenke sets forth a masonry square for use with imperial sized bricks (See Zenke specification below, which suggests various sizes and modifications to the tool based on brick size).
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In regards to claim 7, the combination of Allemand and Zenke teaches a masonry square for use with metric sized bricks (See Zenke specification below, which suggests various sizes and modifications to the tool based on brick size).
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references are considered relevant but fail to teach the combination as claimed:
Jones (US 11,692,803) discloses a multifunctional speed square but fails to teach the standard and oversize brick rule.
Agular et al. (US D454,080 S) discloses a combination square but fails to teach the pivot and standard/oversize brick rule.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL whose telephone number is (571)272-2244. The examiner can normally be reached Mon -Thu, 8:00am - 6:00pm.
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, Laura E Martin can be reached at 571-272-2160. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
January 17, 2026
/YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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