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 without traverse of Group I (claims 21-30) in the reply filed on 4-13-26 is acknowledged.
Claims 31-40 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected apparatus invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4-13-26.
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.
Claim(s) 21 and 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hurd (US 9,772,164). Hurd discloses a camera mount system (Fig 2), comprising: an eyepiece through which an image is viewed; a camera sensor (106) configured to capture the image; an adapter (104) configured to couple the camera mount system to a viewing device that provides the image; one or more optical elements (108, for example) configured to direct the image from the viewing device to the camera sensor and to the eyepiece; and a first eye relief lens (110; see also c. 3, l. 44-46) configured to receive the image from the viewing device via the adapter, adjust the image per a first eye relief adjustment provided by the first eye relief lens, and provide the image adjusted per the first eye relief adjustment to the one or more optical elements.
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.
Claim(s) 22-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hurd (US 9,772,164). Hurd discloses the claimed invention except for the first eye relief lens being removable. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the device in Hurd so that the eye relief lens is removable, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25, 29, and 30 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-7010. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 830-530.
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, Troy Chambers can be reached at 571-272-6874. 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.
/REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
Prosecution Insights