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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention III (claims 17-20) in the reply filed on 12 February 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Inventions I, II and III are not patentably distinct and share an identical field of search. This is not found persuasive because the generic lock module of Invention III could be used with or without the chassis/carriage of Inventions I and II, and furthermore Invention III requires a search in areas of E05B and E05C whereas Inventions I and II require a search in areas of H05K and G06F.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 (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.
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) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huet (US-7108298-B2).
With regards to claim 17, Huet discloses a lock module (Figure 1) comprising:
a bracket (2 Figure 1) having an accommodating portion (39 Figure 7) and an engaging recess (defined by lock member 23, Figure 1);
a damping member (42 Figure 10) disposed in the accommodating portion, the damping member having a hole portion (occupied by 21, Figure 10);
a fixing structure (21 Figure 1) disposed in the hole portion; and
a lock member (23 Figure 1) movably disposed on the bracket (between a “closed position” and “open position”, Col. 7 Lines 1-5).
With regards to claim 18, Huet discloses the lock module of claim 17, wherein the lock module further comprises an operating member (1 Figure 1) movably disposed on the bracket (2 Figure 1), and the lock member (23 Figure 1) has an inclined surface (37 Figure 1);
wherein, when the operating member is located at a first position (“closed position”, Col. 7 Lines 1-5), the operating member restrains the lock member from moving (Col. 7 Lines 32-36), such that the lock member is located in the engaging recess (defined by lock member 23, Figure 1);
wherein, when the operating member is located at a second position (“open position”, Col. 7 Lines 1-5), the inclined surface protrudes from the bracket and the operating member disengages from the lock member, such that the lock member is able to move away from the engaging recess (Col. 7 Lines 25-31);
wherein, when the operating member moves from the second position to the first position, the operating member pushes the inclined surface (by means of corresponding surfaces 18, Figure 1), such that the lock member moves into the engaging recess (Col. 7 Lines 25-36).
With regards to claim 19, Huet discloses the lock module of claim 18, wherein the operating member (1 Figure 1) has two arm portions (17 Figure 3) and a handle portion (15 Figure 3), the two arm portions extend from two sides of the handle portion, and the operating member is U-shaped (Figure 3 shows that the arm portions 17 extend from the handle portion 15 to form a substantially U-shaped operating member 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although the references of record show some features similar to those of applicant's device, the prior art fails to teach or make obvious the claimed invention. With regards to claim 20, Huet discloses the lock module of claim 19. However, the prior art fails to teach an arrangement wherein each of the two arm portions has a first restraining portion and a second restraining portion, the bracket has two third restraining portions and two fourth restraining portions, the first restraining portion cooperates with the third restraining portion to restrain the operating member at the first position, and the second restraining portion cooperates with the fourth restraining portion to restrain the operating member at the second position. Therefore, such an arrangement is not taught by the prior art, nor can the Examiner can find teaching or motivation to suggest such a modification to one of ordinary skill in the art without fundamentally altering the principles of operation of the device or otherwise relying upon the benefit of impermissible hindsight reasoning.
Additional Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-12644319-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-11643844-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-11566453-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-10964353-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-10939574-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-9725933-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-9371848-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-7165790-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
US-6869114-B2: A related lock module arrangement.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Noah Horowitz, whose telephone number is (571)272-5532. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 11:00AM - 7:00 PM.
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, Kristina Fulton, can be reached at (571) 272-7376. 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.
/NOAH HOROWITZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3675
Prosecution Insights