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 . 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 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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because at line 14, “correspond” should read --corresponding--.
Claim 7 is objected to because at line 7, “form” should read --from--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2020/0069049 (Derelov) in view of US 10,100,862 (Yang).
Regarding claim 1, Derelov discloses a tool-free cabinet device (see Figures 1A, 2, 3, 15, and annotated Figure 1 below), comprising:
a top plate (20) and a bottom plate (20), respectively comprising an outer surface (opposite 22), an inner surface (22), and a plurality of configuration groove bodies (32), said configuration groove bodies respectively recessed in said inner surface, and said inner surface of said top plate facing said inner surface of said bottom plate (see Figure 15 and paragraph [0052]);
two side plates (13), respectively comprising a side plate outer surface (see annotated Figure 1 below) and a side plate inner surface (see annotated Figure 1 below) opposite to each other, a upper surface (11), a lower surface (11) and an insertion groove (12), wherein said upper surface and said lower surface are respectively connected between said side plate inner surface and said side plate outer surface, each of said insertion grooves is recessed in said corresponding side plate inner surface, said upper surface faces said inner surface of said top plate, and said lower surface faces said inner surface of said bottom plate (see Figure 15 and paragraph [0052]);
a rear plate (40), wherein left and right sides of said rear plate are inserted in said corresponding insertion grooves (see Figure 15 and paragraph [0052]); and
a plurality of assembly components (31, 32), respectively comprising a female fastener (at 32) and a male fastener (31), wherein each of said female fasteners is provided inside said corresponding configuration groove body (the surface of the groove body 32 providing the female fastener), each of said male fasteners is respectively provided on said upper surface and said lower surface of each of said side plates (see Figure 15), so as to provide said side plates between said top plate and said bottom plate, respectively (see Figure 15 and paragraph [0052]).
PNG
media_image1.png
538
867
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure 1. Annotated Figure 15 of Derelov
Derelov does not expressly disclose each of said female fastener comprises a first plate element, and a keyhole, said keyhole is passed through said corresponding first plate element, and each of said male fastener is assembled inside said keyhole of said corresponding female fastener.
Yang teaches replacing prior art cabinet assembly components with a plurality of assembly components (see Figures 1-4C), respectively comprising a female fastener (10) and a male fastener (17), wherein each of said female fasteners is provided inside said corresponding configuration groove body (see column 2, lines 43-45), each of said female fastener comprises a first plate element (see annotated Figure 2 below), and a keyhole (11), said keyhole is passed through said corresponding first plate element (see Figures 1-3), each of said male fasteners is respectively provided on a surface of a plate (see column 3, lines 9-15), each of said male fastener is assembled inside said keyhole of said corresponding female fastener, so as to provide said side plates between said top plate and said bottom plate, respectively (see Figure 4C). Yang teaches this structure improves prior art devices by providing a firm connection that prevents incorrect assembly (see column 1, line 48, through column 2, line 11, and column 3, lines 5-8).
PNG
media_image2.png
400
636
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Figure 2. Annotated Figure 3 of Yang
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the plurality of assembly components of Derelov, with that of Yang, such that the each of said female fastener comprises a first plate element, and a keyhole, said keyhole is passed through said corresponding first plate element, and each of said male fastener is assembled inside said keyhole of said corresponding female fastener, in order to a firm connection that prevents incorrect assembly.
Regarding claim 2, Yang teaches each of said male fasteners (17) comprises a rivet part (18), a screw part (17), and a connection part (19), each of said connection parts is connected between said rivet part and said screw part corresponding thereto, and a diameter of each of said connection parts is smaller than a diameter of said corresponding rivet part, and a diameter of said rivet part is smaller than a diameter of said corresponding screw part (see Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Derelov and Yang teaches each of said side plates (13 of Derelov) comprises a plurality of screw lock holes (see column 2, line 63, through column 3, line 8 of Yang), said screw lock holes are respectively provided on said corresponding upper surface and lower surface, said screw parts (17 of Yang) are fixed inside said corresponding screw lock holes, and said rivet part (18 of Yang) and said corresponding connection part (19 of Yang) are provided outside said corresponding screw lock hole (see column 3, lines 9-41 of Yang).
Regarding claim 4, Yang teaches each of said first plate elements (see annotated Figure 2 above) comprises a first section (see annotated Figure 2 above) and a second section (13), each of said second sections is connected to said first section corresponding thereto, each of said second sections is a slope structure (see Figure 3), each of said second sections has a first side (131) and a second side (133) opposite to each other, each of said second sections is connected to said corresponding first section, a thickness of said first side of each of said second sections is smaller than a thickness of said corresponding second side (see Figure 3 and column 2, lines 53-63).
Regarding claim 5, Yang teaches each of said keyholes (11) comprises a first hole edge area and a second hole edge area (see annotated Figure 2 above), each of said first hole edge areas is provided on said second section corresponding thereto, each of said second hole edge areas is provided on said first section corresponding thereto, each of said first hole edge areas is larger than said second hole edge area corresponding thereto, each of said connection parts (19) is fixed to said second hole edge area corresponding thereto, and each of said rivet parts (18) is positioned on said first plate element corresponding thereto (see Figure 4C).
Regarding claim 6, Yang teaches of said female fasteners (10) comprises a second plate element (see annotated Figure 2 above) and a positioning part (see annotated Figure 2 above or 134), each of said first plate elements is connected to said second plate element corresponding thereto, each of said positioning parts is protrudingly provided on said second plate element corresponding thereto, and each of said positioning parts is adjacent to said first hole edge area corresponding thereto; when said male fastener (17) is moved to said first hole edge area, each of said positioning parts is used to support said rivet part (18; see Figure 4C).
Regarding claim 7, Yang teaches a diameter of each of said connection parts (19) is smaller than a dimension of said first hole edge area and a dimension of said second hole edge area (see annotated Figure 2 above), respectively, and a dimension of said first hole edge area is larger than a diameter of said rivet part, a dimension of said second hole edge area is smaller than a diameter of said rivet part, said rivet part and said connection part connected thereto are passed through said first hole edge area in sequence, said male fastener (17) is moved form said first hole edge area to said second hole edge area (see Figures 1 and 4A-4C, and column 3, lines 16-41).
Regarding claim 8, Derelov teaches said top plate (20) and said bottom plate (20) respectively comprises an assembly groove (23), each of said assembly grooves is recessed in said inner surface (22) corresponding thereto (see Figures 1A and 15), and a position of each of said assembly grooves is different from positions of said configuration groove bodies (see Figures 1A and 15), upper and lower sides of said rear plate (40) are respectively inserted in said assembly groove of said top plate and said assembly groove of said bottom plate corresponding thereto (see Figure 15).
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure in the field of tool-free cabinet devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
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, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. 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.
/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
September 10, 2026
Prosecution Insights