DETAILED ACTION
The Notice of Allowance filed January 13, 2026 has been withdrawn.
This final Office action is in response to the IDS filed December 17, 2025.
Status of claims: claims 9-11, 17, 22-25, 28-34 and 36-38 are cancelled; claims 1-8, 12-16, 18-21, 26, 27 and 35 are hereby examined below.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 17, 2025 was considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
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.
Claims 1-8, 12-15, 26, 27 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 200845323A to Ryutaro.
Ryutaro discloses a hatch assembly comprising:
a frame 4,5a-5d presenting a frame opening; (see FIGS. 1-3)
a hatch 2 for opening and closing the frame opening; (see FIGS. 1-2)
a plurality of pivot assemblies 24,22 wherein at least two pairs of the pivot assemblies each provide a hatch pivot axis at or adjacent a side of the hatch, (see FIGS. 4-6)
an engagement mechanism configured to releasably engage the pivot assemblies to couple the hatch to the frame;
wherein the engagement mechanism comprises a plurality of pins 20a-20d, each pin movable between an extended position to engage said pivot assembly and a retracted position to disengage from the pivot assembly, and wherein each pin comprises a straight portion 21 that engages with said pivot assembly when said pin is extended and said straight portion defines a longitudinal axis; (see FIGS. 4 and 5) and
an actuation mechanism 6-9 configured to move the pins between the extended and retracted positions, (see FIG. 4) to selectively couple the hatch to the frame by:
(i) all of the pivot assemblies engaged by all of the pins to couple the hatch to the frame in a closed position, (see FIG. 1) and
(ii) any said pair of pivot assemblies engaged by a corresponding pair of the pins to selectively pivotally-couple the hatch to the frame to pivot on the hatch pivot axis at or adjacent any of at least two sides of the hatch, (see FIGS. 2 and 7) and
wherein the pins are oriented so that said longitudinal axes of the pins in each pair of pins converge at a non-zero angle enabling the hatch to remain coupled to the frame when the hatch is pivoted between the closed position and an open position. (see FIG. 4) (claim 1)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein the actuation mechanism is configured to move all of the pins to the retracted position to uncouple the hatch from the frame to optionally remove the hatch from the frame. (see FIG. 4) (claim 2)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein pairs of the pivot assemblies each provide a hatch pivot axis at or adjacent a side of the hatch, so that the plurality of pivot assemblies provides a hatch pivot axis at or adjacent each side of the frame,
the actuation mechanism configured to selectively couple the hatch to the frame by any said pair of pivot assemblies engaged by a corresponding pair of the pins to selectively pivotally-couple the hatch to the frame to pivot on the hatch pivot axis at or adjacent any side of the hatch. (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 7) (claim 3)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein one or more pivot assemblies comprises at least two pivot axes (see 26 in pivot assembly 24 in FIG. 6), wherein the one or more pivot assemblies is shared between two adjacent hatch pivot axes for two adjacent sides of the hatch and frame. (see FIG. 4) (claim 4)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein each pivot assembly comprises at least two pivot axes (see element 26 in pivot assembly 24 in FIG. 6), wherein each pivot assembly is shared between two adjacent hatch pivot axes for two adjacent sides of the hatch and frame. (see FIG. 4) (claim 5)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein each pivot assembly is associated with a corner of the hatch and frame. (see FIG. 4) (claim 6)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein pairs of adjacent pivot assemblies each provide a hatch pivot axis, and wherein the actuation mechanism is configured to selectively pivotally-couple the hatch to the frame by any said pair of adjacent pivot assemblies engaged by a corresponding pair of adjacent pins. (see FIG. 2, 4 and 7) (claim 7)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein the number of hatch pivot axes is equal to the number of pivot assemblies. (see FIG. 4) (claim 8)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein the actuation mechanism provides a plurality of closed positions (wherein some or all of the elements 6-9 are not pushed inward) to selectively couple the hatch to the frame in the closed position. (claim 12)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein in each closed position a handle 10 of the actuation mechanism is aligned towards a corner region of the hatch. (see FIG. 4) (Note: since the applicant’s specification failed to define, the examiner relied upon the Cambridge Dictionary for the definition and respectfully submits that the Ryutaro handle 10 is “the part of something that you use to hold it or open it.” Also note the surface of handle 10 is “aligned towards a corner region of the hatch,” as recited.) (claim 13)
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HANDLE | English meaning - Cambridge Essential British
Ryutaro further discloses wherein the actuation mechanism provides a plurality of open positions, in each open position the hatch is pivotally coupled to the frame to pivot on said hatch pivot axis. (see FIGS. 2 and 7) (claim 14)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein in each open position a handle of the actuation mechanism is oriented away from the respective hatch pivot axis. (see rejection of claim 13 above regarding the handle of the actuation mechanism. Also, see annotated FIG. 7 below) (claim 15)
[AltContent: textbox (handle)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Hatch pivot axis)][AltContent: arrow]
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Ryutaro further discloses wherein each pin is coupled to the actuation mechanism by a connecting element 18 received in a channel or passageway 11. (see FIG .5) (claim 26)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein the channels or passageways are curved (note the sides of the channel 11 are curved) so that the connecting elements are curved (note the outer surface of the connecting element 18 is curved; see FIG. 5) when received in the channels or passageways so that the pins extend at a preferred angle between the longitudinal axis of each pin and the corresponding hatch pivot axis. (see FIG. 4) (claim 27)
Ryutaro further discloses wherein each pivot assembly comprises a spring 22 to return the pivot assembly to a closed orientation when the pin is retracted from the pivot assembly. (see FIG. 4) (claim 35)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16 and 18-21 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's submission of an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the timing fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) on December 17, 2025 prompted the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 609.04(b). 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.
/Marcus Menezes/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634