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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/20/2026 has been entered.
Notice to Applicant
Claims 1-20 have been examined in this application. This communication is a non-final rejection in response to the “Amendments to the claims” and “Remarks” filed 1/20/2026.
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 1-4, 8-9, 11-16, 19-20 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 6,783,162 to Harper in view of US Patent Number 1,941,459 to Bock..
Regarding claim 1, Harper discloses a pet kennel (kennel 20) comprising:
A body having an interior space sized and shaped for a pet (kennel interior 30), the body further including a door aperture sized and shaped for entry or exit of the pet into or out of the interior space (door opening 26); and
A door assembly coupled to the body at the door aperture (door 22), the door assembly including a door having a door lock (latch 24) configured to lock and unlock the door from the body (Column 2, lines 43-45 disclose “Latch 24 serves to secure door 22 in the closed position so as to house a small pet inside kennel interior 30”), the door extending along a front surface (see the Figures), the door lock including a handle (knob 72), a rotating part (rotating member 36), and at least one bolt (bolts 32), the handle configured to cause a rotation of the rotating part that causes the at least one bolt to translate laterally and unlock the door (column 3, lines 27-31 disclose “knob 72 is used to turn rotating member 36 to selectively reciprocate bolts 32 into and out of engagement with apertures 34 between a retracted open position (FIGS. 7 and 8) and an extended locked position (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5”).
Harper does not disclose the rotating part including a rod, at least one bolt engaged with the rotating part, the rotation of the rotating part configured to engage the rotating part with the at least one bolt to cause the at least one bolt to translate laterally and unlock the door, wherein the handle is configured to pivot about an axis, the axis substantially parallel to the front surface of the door, wherein a pivotal movement of the handle away from the front surface is configured to cause the rotation of the rotating part about the axis, to unlock the door. However, this limitation is taught by Bock. Bock disc loses a lock with a handle 22 configured to pivot about an axis (formed by rod 16), the axis being substantially parallel to the front surface of stile 10 (see Figure 1), wherein a pivotal movement of the handle away from the front surface (shown by the arrow in Figure 3) is configured to cause the rotation of the rotating part about the axis, to unlock the door “it will be apparent that by swinging the handle 22 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 to the extent shown in Fig. 4, the gearing will cause to withdraw the bolt 15 and permit the hand which has operated the handle 22 to draw upon the window sash with the effect of opening the fame”. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper using the teachings from Bock as a of substitution known types of handle mechanisms to operate latch bolts.
Regarding claim 2 (dependent on claim 1), Bock further teaches the at least one bolt includes a first bolt and a second bolt located at opposite ends of the rotating part and coupled to the rotating part (Figure 1 shows a bolt at the bottom and one at the top of rod 16), the rotating part is coupled to the handle (between handle 22 and rod 16 shown in Figure 2), and the rod extends between the first bolt and the second bolt (see rod 16 in Figure 10.
Regarding claims 3 (dependent on claim 2), 12 (dependent on claim 11), Bock further teaches the first bolt includes a first aperture, the second bolt includes a second aperture (Figures 3 and 4 shows recessed part of gear rack 15b comprising an aperture of each bolt), the rod having a first tip and a second tip located at opposite ends of the rod (top and bottom tips of rod 16 in Figure 1, Figures 3 and 4 shows these tip portions having pinions 17), the first tip extends into the first aperture, and the second tip extends into the second aperture (Figures 3 and 4 shows the tips of pinions 17 extending into gear rack 15b).
Regarding claim 4 (dependent on claim 1), Harper discloses the door assembly including a frame (see frame around opening 26 in Figure 1) including at least one locking aperture (apertures 34), and the at least one bolt translates into and out of the at least one locking aperture to lock and unlock the door (column 3, lines 27-31 disclose “knob 72 is used to turn rotating member 36 to selectively reciprocate bolts 32 into and out of engagement with apertures 34 between a retracted open position (FIGS. 7 and 8) and an extended locked position (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5”).
Regarding claim 8 (dependent on claim 1), Harper discloses the handle is attached directly to the rotating part, the handle and the rotating part are attached along the axis (via bore 71 and pin 74, see Figures 2 and 8).
Regarding claim 9 (dependent on claim 1)¸ Harper discloses the door including a door frame see frame of door opening 26 in Figure 1) and a grating (door 22), the grating includes an aperture that receives the door lock (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 11, Harper discloses a pet kennel (kennel 20) comprising:
A body having an interior space sized and shaped for a pet (kennel interior 30), the body further including a door aperture sized and shaped for entry or exit of the pet into or out of the interior space (door opening 26); and
A frame coupled to the body at the door aperture (see protruding lip around door opening 26 in Figure 1), the frame including a strike plate having at least one locking aperture (apertures 34); and
A door pivotally coupled to the frame (door 22), the door including a grating extending along a front surface (see Figure 1), the door including a door lock (latch 24) configured to lock and unlock the door from the frame (Column 2, lines 43-45 disclose “Latch 24 serves to secure door 22 in the closed position so as to house a small pet inside kennel interior 30”), the door lock including a rotating part (rotating member 36), a handle (knob 72), and at least one bolt (bolts 32), the rotating part causing the at least one bolt to translate laterally out of the at least one locking aperture to unlock the door (column 3, lines 27-31 disclose “knob 72 is used to turn rotating member 36 to selectively reciprocate bolts 32 into and out of engagement with apertures 34 between a retracted open position (FIGS. 7 and 8) and an extended locked position (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5”).
Harper does not disclose the rotating part including a rod, at least one bolt engaged with the rotating part, the rotation of the rotating part causing the rotating part to engage with the at least one bolt to translate the at least one bolt laterally and unlock the door, wherein the handle is configured to pivot about an axis, wherein a pivotal movement of the handle away from the front surface is configured to cause the rotation of the rotating part about the axis to unlock the door. However, this limitation is taught by Bock. Bock disc loses a lock with a handle 22 configured to pivot about an axis (formed by rod 16), the axis being substantially parallel to the front surface of stile 10 (see Figure 1), wherein a pivotal movement of the handle away from the front surface (shown by the arrow in Figure 3) is configured to cause the rotation of the rotating part about the axis, to unlock the door “it will be apparent that by swinging the handle 22 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 to the extent shown in Fig. 4, the gearing will cause to withdraw the bolt 15 and permit the hand which has operated the handle 22 to draw upon the window sash with the effect of opening the fame”. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper using the teachings from Bock as a of substitution known types of handle mechanisms to operate latch bolts.
Regarding claim 13 (dependent on claim 11), Harper discloses the door lock including:
A locking mechanism including the rotating part (latch 24);
An outer cover configured to receive the handle and at least a portion of the locking mechanism (housing 40).
Harper does not disclose a support panel configured to receive the locking mechanism and at least a portion of the grating, and a rear cover configured to receive the support panel. However, the examiner takes official notice that a cover to mount a lock on a grating is notoriously well-known in the art, and it would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper to use a support panel and a cover in order to removably mount the latch to the door grating so that it can be replaced if necessary. Since the applicant has not traversed the examiner’s official notice, the notice is taken to be admitted prior art (see MPEP 2144.03(C), second paragraph).
Regarding claim 14 (dependent on claim 13), Harper and Bock do not disclose a plurality of retainers, each retainer of the plurality of retainers defining a recess configured to receive the rotating part. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide additional retainers in order to provide a more securely lock for the door, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding claim 15 (dependent on claim 11), Harper discloses the door lock including a mounting plate having a main plate (base plate 38) and at least one retainer (housing 40), the main plate includes at least one bolt aperture that receives the at least one bolt (openings 38a and 38b), and the at least one retainer is configured to retain the rotating part during rotation (column 2, line 65 to column 3, line 1 disclose “Rotating member 36 is rotatably mounted between base plate 38 and housing 40 so that the rotating member 36 can rotate while disposed between the plate 38 and housing 40”).
Regarding claim 16, Harper discloses a pet kennel (kennel 20) comprising:
A body having an interior space sized and shaped for a pet (kennel interior 30), the body further including a door aperture sized and shaped for entry or exit of the pet into or out of the interior space (door opening 26); and
A door assembly coupled to the body at the door aperture (door 22), the door assembly including a door having a door lock (latch 24) configured to lock and unlock the door from the body (Column 2, lines 43-45 disclose “Latch 24 serves to secure door 22 in the closed position so as to house a small pet inside kennel interior 30”), the door extending along a front surface (see Figure 1), the door lock including a handle (knob 72), a rod coupled to the handle (pin 74), a first bolt located at a first end of the rod (top bolt 32), and a second bolt located at an opposite second end of the rod (bottom bolt 32), the handle causing the rod to rotate and translate the first bolt and the second bolt laterally to unlock the door (column 3, lines 27-31 disclose “knob 72 is used to turn rotating member 36 to selectively reciprocate bolts 32 into and out of engagement with apertures 34 between a retracted open position (FIGS. 7 and 8) and an extended locked position (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5”).
Harper does not disclose the rotating part including a rod, the first and second bolts engaged with the rod, the handle causing the rod to rotate, the rotation of the rod configured to engage with the first bolt and the second bolt to translate the first bolt and the second bolt laterally and unlock the door, wherein the handle is configured to pivot about an axis to cause a rotation of the rod to unlock the door, wherein the rod is configured to rotate about the axis. However, this limitation is taught by Bock. Bock disc loses a lock with a handle 22 configured to pivot about an axis (formed by rod 16), the axis being substantially parallel to the front surface of stile 10 (see Figure 1), wherein a pivotal movement of the handle away from the front surface (shown by the arrow in Figure 3) is configured to cause the rotation of the rotating part about the axis, to unlock the door “it will be apparent that by swinging the handle 22 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 to the extent shown in Fig. 4, the gearing will cause to withdraw the bolt 15 and permit the hand which has operated the handle 22 to draw upon the window sash with the effect of opening the fame”, and Figure 1 shows a first and a second bolt at the top and bottom of rod 16. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper using the teachings from Bock as a of substitution known types of handle mechanisms to operate latch bolts.
Regarding claim 19 (dependent on claim 18), Harper discloses
The at least one retainer is a first retainer (Figure 6 shows openings on wall portion 54a that comprise retainers for pivot pin 58),
The door lock includes a support panel that is configured to couple to the mounting plate (case 50);
The support panel includes a second retainer (see opening in case 50 for tabs 38, 40 and openings in handle 34 for pivot pin 58 in Figure 6);
The rod is located between the first retainer and the second retainer (pivot pin 58 is located between the openings in case 50 and wall 54a), and
The first retainer and the second retainer each include one or more recesses configured to receive the rod (see Figure 6).
Regarding claim 20 (dependent on claim 16), Harper further teaches the bolts 32 comprising first and second bent tips at their ends (upturned ends 58), the first bent tip protruding into a first aperture in the lock (top aperture 60), and the second bent tip protruding into a second aperture in the lock (bottom aperture 60). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to reverse the connections between the rotating member 36 and the bolts 32 to place the apertures on the bolts and the rod on the rotating member, since it has been held that a mere reversal of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Einstein, 8 USPQ 167.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 6,783,162 to Harper in view of US Patent Number 1,941,459 to Bock, in further view of US Patent Application Number 2015/0034018 by Edmonds.
Regarding claim 5 (dependent on claim 4), Harper does not disclose the frame is an outer frame, the door assembly includes an inner frame, the outer frame and inner frame are each oriented in a plane substantially parallel to the door when the door is in a locked position, the door is pivotally attached to the outer frame or the inner frame, and the outer frame includes a strike plate having the at least one locking aperture. However, this limitation is taught by Edmonds (see annotated Figure 1 below). It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper using the teachings from Edmonds in order to better reinforce the frame of the entrance to prevent damage and unwanted escape by the animal.
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Claims 6-7, 17-18 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 6,783,162 to Harper in view of US Patent Number 1,941,459 to Bock, in further view of US Patent Application Number 2015/0020455 by Ibrahim
Regarding claim 6 (dependent on claim 1), Harper and Bock do not disclose the door lock including at least one biasing part configured to bias the at least one bolt into a locked position. However, this limitation is taught by Ibrahim. Ibrahim discloses a door lock assembly including at least one biasing part (spring 86) configured to bias the at least one bolt into a locked configuration (paragraph 23 discloses “the plunger 32 is spring bias via a spring 86 toward the extended position”). It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper and Bock using the teachings from Ibrahim in order to keep the lock biased into a locked configuration to prevent the animal from accidentally escaping.
Regarding claim 7 (dependent on claim 6), Ibrahim further teaches
The at least one bolt includes a tip (forward engaging portion 70) and a shaft (spring holding portion 88),
The at least one biasing part includes a spring that encircles the shaft and applies a biasing force against the tip (see Figure 6),
the door lock includes an outer cover (handle assembly 30),
the outer cover includes a faceplate (handle case 50), and
at least a portion of the tip of the bolt is retained by the faceplate (Figure 6 shows case 50 having an opening for the tip of plunger 32).
Regarding claim 17 (dependent on claim 16), Harper discloses the first bolt including a first tip and a first shaft, the second bolt includes a second tip and a second shaft (see bolts 32 in Figure 1).
Ibrahim further teaches the door lock includes a first spring encircling the first shaft and a second spring encircling the second shaft. Ibrahim teaches a spring 86 encircling shaft 88 in order to bias plunger 32 towards the closed position.
Regarding claim 18 (dependent on claim 16), Ibrahim further teaches the door lock including a mounting plate having a main plate (handle case 54) and at least one retainer (see openings on wall portions 54a to retain pivot pin 58), the main plate includes a first bolt aperture that receives the at least one bolt (see opening in handle cases 50 and 54 for plunger 32), and the at least one retainer is configured to retain the rod during rotation (the openings retain pivot pin 58 during rotation).
Ibrahim does not disclose a second bolt aperture that receives the second bolt. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide additional retainers in order to provide a more securely lock for the door, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 6,783,162 to Harper in view of US Patent Number 1,941,459 to Bock, in further view of US Patent Application Number 2021/0329881 by Paxson.
Regarding claim 10 (dependent on claim 1), Harper does not disclose the body including a first body portion and a second body portion, the first body portion including a first lip and a front surface including the door aperture, the second body portion includes a second lip and a rear surface, and the first body portion is configured to be detached form the second body portion and displayed on a retail shelf with the door assembly coupled at the door aperture, such that a customer can view and operate the door assembly from the retail shelf without the second body portion. However, this limitation is taught by Paxson. Paxson discloses a kennel, with kennel body including a first body portion (first body portion 14) and a second body portion (second body portion 16), the first body portion including a first lip (first lip 38) and a front surface (front surface 18) including the door aperture (front aperture 42), the second body portion includes a second lip (second lip 58) and a rear surface (rear surface 20), and the first body portion is configured to be detached form the second body portion and displayed on a retail shelf with the door assembly attached at the door aperture, such that a customer can view and operate the door assembly from the retail shelf without the second body portion attached (paragraph 53 discloses “This triangular shape is advantageous, for example, for displaying the first body portion 14 at a sale point without the second body portion 16 attached thereto”). It would obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Harper using the teachings from Paxson to allow the kennel to be taken apart to take up less space for storage or for sale displays.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the current grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL H WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6554. The examiner can normally be reached 10-6:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Josh Michener can be reached at 571-272-1467. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MICHAEL H. WANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3642
/MICHAEL H WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642