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 .
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)(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.
(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) 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by CN 203446283 (hereinafter CN ‘283).
Regarding claim 15, CN ‘283 discloses a movable horticulture tray carrier system comprising: a plurality of horticulture trays (2), each one of the plurality of horticulture trays defining a plurality of growing cells with gaps therebetween (CN ‘283, Figure 2); and a stand including (3): a plurality of vertical supports (CN ‘283, Figure 2) evenly spaced apart along a length of the stand; first and second horizontal (3) supports extending in parallel along an entirety of the length of the stand between at least two of the plurality of vertical supports (CN ‘283, Figure 1), the first and the second horizontal supports spaced apart such that when the plurality of horticulture trays are seated on the stand the first horizontal support sits in a first one of the gaps and the second horizontal support sits in a second one of the gaps (CN ‘283, Figure 2); and wherein the stand is configured to support the plurality of horticulture trays above a surface that the plurality of vertical supports are seated on to provide an air gap between a lower surface of each one of the plurality of growing cells and the surface that the plurality of vertical supports are seated on (CN ‘283, Figure 2), the air gap facilitates root pruning, facilitates lateral root growth to reduce root circling, and facilitates disease prevention of plants being grown in the plurality of growing cells; the plurality of horticultural trays and the stand are configured such that an outer edge of each one of the plurality of horticulture trays extends beyond the stand such that the plurality of horticulture trays abut adjacent horticulture trays of an adjacent stand (CN ‘283: Figure 1); and the stand being configured to support the plurality of horticulture trays such that they directly abut each other.
Regarding claim 16, CN ‘283 further discloses each one of the plurality of vertical supports includes two side portions (CN ‘283, Figure 2) that are spaced apart and extend vertically, and a crossbar connecting the two side portions (CN ‘283, Figure 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-19 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.
Claims 21 and 22 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the claimed invention having an inwardly extending foot or the spacing and orientation of the horticultural trays.
JP 2009219400 fails to disclose an additional frame. The frame of JP 2009219400 expands to support additional trays, negating the need for an additional frame.
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 09/15/2025 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.
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/KRISTEN C HAYES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642