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 § 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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo (KR20150101327) in view of Chen (20100259146).
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Regarding claim 1, Yoo teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including a collapsible workbench, comprising: a parallelepiped casing (100) including two rails (A in Fig. 10 Annotated) disposed on two inner surfaces of two sides (120) respectively (Fig. 10 & par. 45); and a door (410); a table assembly including two slides (421-422) having a first slide member (421) slidably disposed on the rail (Fig. 10 & par. 29) and a second slide member (422) slidably disposed on an inner surface of the first slide member (Fig. 10 & par. 29); a limit member (423) disposed on front ends of the second slide members (Figs. 3-4); and a multipart table (431, 432) including a rectangular first sub-table (431) disposed on the first slide members, and a rectangular second sub-table (432) hingedly secured onto the first sub-table (via 440 - see Figs. 7 & 11 and par. 50-51). Yoo fail(s) to teach locking devices.
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However, Chen teaches locking means (14, 16, 26, 28, 34, 50) comprising a locking device (14) including a front handle (46) having a forward extension (46 - see Fig. 3); a rear lock (40, 42, 44, & B in Fig. 1 Annotated) having a concave member (40, 42, B); and a pivot (38) pivotably secured to a rear end of a first slide member (12) and disposed above a rail (lower of 30). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add locking means, as taught by Chen, between each of the slides & rails of Yoo, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to selectively lock the slides in an extended position, thereby preventing accidental closing (as suggested by par. 2 & 17 of Chen). Hence, Yoo as modified would teach two locking devices (14 of Chen) including a pivot (38 of Chen) pivotably secured to either side of a rear end of a first sub-table (431 of Yoo) and disposed above (as in Fig. 1 of Chen) a rail (A of Yoo).
Regarding claim 2, Yoo teaches a structure wherein in a fully extended position (Fig. 4) the second sub-table (432) is disposed on the second slide members (422) and stopped by the limit member (423, which stops the second sub-table (432) from moving downward).
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches a rear lock (40, 42, 44, & B) that is heavier (implied by Figs. 3-4, showing the rear lock (40, 42, 44, & B) to be longer & wider than the front handle (46)) than the front handle (46).
Regarding claim 4, Yoo as modified teaches a structure wherein a clockwise pivotal movement (as in the mirror images of Figs. 3-4 of Chen shown below) of the forward extension (46 of Chen) is configured to cause a front end of a rail (A of Yoo) to be locked by the concave member (40, 42, B of Chen).
Regarding claim 5, Yoo as modified teaches a structure wherein a counterclockwise pivotal movement (as in the mirror images of Figs. 3-4 of Chen shown below) of the forward extension (46 of Chen) is configured to unlock the front end of the rail (A of Yoo).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW ING whose telephone number is (571)272-6536. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at (571) 270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
/MATTHEW W ING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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