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
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.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DiFlora (5,588,810).
With respect to claim 1, DiFlora teaches a soundproofing cover (Figures 1-6, #27) comprising: a cover body (30/32) configured to be opened and closed; a hook portion (40) extending from the cover body and defining a hook hole (defined by hole within 40, accommodating segment #42); and a hook protrusion (42) protruding from an outer surface of the cover body when the cover body is in a closed state, and on which the hook portion (40) is hooked with the hook protrusion (42) inserted into the hook hole, the cover body (30/32) being maintained in the closed state with the hook portion (40) hooked on the hook protrusion (42), wherein the hook protrusion (42) includes: a protrusion body (see annotated view of Figure 6, provided below, #1) protruding from the outer surface of the cover body; a first engaging protrusion (2) protruding from a distal end of the protrusion body toward a tip (41) of the hook portion (40) in an extending direction of the hook portion (40) with the hook portion (40) hooked on the hook protrusion (42); and a second engaging protrusion (3) protruding from the protrusion body (1) in a direction opposite to the tip (41) of the hook portion (40) in the extending direction with the hook portion (40) hooked on the hook protrusion (42).
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892
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With respect to claim 5, DiFlora teaches wherein the cover body (30/32) has a cover edge (36) that is an opening edge of the cover body when the cover body is in an opened state, and the hook protrusion (42) protrudes from a portion of the outer surface of the cover body away from the cover edge (36).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 6-7 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Pertinent arts of record relating to Applicant’s disclosure are disclosed in the PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMY AUSTIN LUKS whose telephone number is (571)272-2707. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9:00-5:00).
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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571) 270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEREMY A LUKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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