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. 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. Claim Objections Claims 4, 7, 9-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims after the preamble repetitively use “wherein”. Appropriate correction is required. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1 -2 , 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Weilert et al [20230151967] . With respect claim 1, Weilert discloses: A fire pit comprising: a pit body (106) having a wall section, said wall section having an upper end and a lower end, said pit body having a top surface (11 6 ) adjacent to said upper end of said wall section, said top surface defining a fire pit receptacle opening [see FIG 2C, paragraph 0033] ; a lower screen (414) above said top surface, said lower screen having a wall section with a top screen surface and a bottom screen surface; an upper screen (130) located above said lower screen, said upper screen having an upper screen surface and a lower screen surface, a deflector (134) received in said lower screen, said deflector having a frustum shape, said deflector defining a wall portion having an inner surface an outer surface, an upper end and a lower end [paragraph 0035] , wherein said outer surface of said wall portion of said deflector is for radiating heat onto a user's body and feet [see FIG 3] , and wherein said inner surface of said wall portion of said deflector is for radiating heat onto a user's body and head [see reproduced FIGs 1A and 4D below] . Screen is given the broadest reasonable interpretation with regard to the applicant’s specification and drawings; the specification does not provide a commonly known meaning for “screen” and the drawings show a non-mesh surface and is interpreted as such. It is understood that Weilert does not explicitly show the heat being reflected toward the users body, however if a similar structure is seen in the prior art, then it follows logically that the prior art functions similarly, e.g. the shape of element 134 is sloped identically to the claimed invention and would reflect heat as similarly claimed. Weilert further discloses: {cl. 2} The fire pit according to claim 1 further comprising: a support ring (114) on said top surface surrounding said fire pit receptacle opening; said bottom screen surface of said lower screen is received adjacent to said support ring on said top surface [see FIGs 1A, 2B] . {cl. 7} The fire pit according to claim 1 wherein: wherein said wall portion of said deflector defines a through hole (142) for facilitating installation and removal of said deflector with an implement without requiring a user to touch said deflector [see FIG 1B] . {cl. 8} The fire pit according to claim 1 wherein: a circumference of said lower end of said deflector is smaller than a circumference of said upper end such that said wall portion is offset from vertical to have an outward lean, wherein said wall portion of said deflector is 45 to 75 degrees from vertical [see FIG 2A , paragraph 0031 ] . {cl. 9} The fire pit according to claim 8 wherein: wherein said wall portion of said deflector is 73.6 to 74.8 degrees from vertical [see FIG 2A , paragraph 0031 ] . {cl. 10} The fire pit according to claim 9 wherein: wherein said wall portion of said deflector is approximately 74.5 degrees from vertical [see FIG 2A , paragraph 0031 ] . {cl. 11} The fire pit according to claim 1 wherein: said pit body, said lower screen and said deflector have a circular cross-section [see FIG 1B] . 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. 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. Claim (s) 3 -6 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weilert et al [20230151967], further in view of Ressler et al [20220170637] . With respect to claims 3-12, Weilert discloses the invention as substantially claimed, however does not show details of the screen as further claimed. Ressler makes up for these deficiencies by teaching a firepit body [see FIG 6] having a screen (100) and, {cl. 3} The fire pit according to claim 1 further comprising: an upper screen ring (404) supported by said top screen surface of said lower screen (102) , wherein said upper screen ring defines an outer annular step (402) and an inner upper support surface [see FIG 4, paragraph 0032] . {cl. 4 } The fire pit according to claim 3 wherein: wherein said lower screen surface (118) of said upper screen communicates with said upper screen ring, wherein said lower screen surface of said upper screen is sized for being received on said outer annular step of said upper screen ring [see FIG 4, paragraph 0032] . {cl. 5 , shown by Weilert } The fire pit according to claim 3 wherein: said upper end of said wall portion of said deflector defines an outwardly extending lip (412) , said lip sized for being received on said inner support surface (410) of said upper screen ring [see FIG 4D of Weilert] . {cl. 6 } The fire pit according to claim 1 further comprising: a handle (114) on said upper screen surface of said upper screen [see FIG 2] . {cl. 12 } The fire pit according to claim 1 wherein: said pit body, said lower screen, said upper screen, and said deflector have a rectangular cross-section [see FIG 2] . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Weilert to include the screen arrangement of Ressler because Ressler provides an arrangement allows or prevents access to the firepit interior having an added safety advantage. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 13 is 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 specific features in combination with the rectangular cross-section is not found in the prior art. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT AVINASH A SAVANI whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3762 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday thru Friday 8am-4pm. . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Michael Hoang can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-6460 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /AVINASH A SAVANI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 2/20/2026