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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-11, and species a, the recognizable site being a triangle is acknowledged. Applicant contends that claims 1 and 2 read on the elected species; after further understanding it appears however that claims 3-8 also read on the elected invention and that “species b” was not actually a separate species but further limitation of the recognizable shape being a triangle (Fig. 4 appears to show the triangle with the front and rear sights aligned, both the front and rear sight separately having five (or more) visual boundaries but when aligned for a triangular shape) and claims 5-8 are generic despite the visual shape. Hence claims 9-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/10/25.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Nasef (US 6,711,846). Nasef discloses an aiming device for a firearm, comprising: a front sight (30); and a rear sight (20), wherein: at least one point or surface of alignment on the front sight is visually aligned with a corresponding point or surface of alignment on rear sight; the rear sight is designed in such a way as to complete the partial shape of front sight, so that when viewed together in alignment, the front sight and the rear sight form a recognizable shape; and the front sight visually protrudes above the rear sight when sights are directly aligned with aimer’s eye (Fig. 4c).
2. The aiming device for a firearm of claim 1, wherein the recognizable shape is substantially a triangle. (Fig. 4c)
3. The aiming device for a firearm of claim 1, wherein the front sight has five clearly defined external visual boundaries. (Fig. 4b)
4. The aiming device for a firearm of claim 1, wherein the rear sight has five or more clearly defined external visual boundaries. (Fig. 4a)
5. The aiming device for a firearm of claim 1, further comprising a visual surface on the rear sight. (Figs. 4a, 9, 10)
8. The aiming device for a firearm of claim 5, wherein the visual surface is painted or otherwise colored. (col. 3, lines 25-61)
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) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nasef as applied to claims 1 and 5 above and further in view of Fisher et al. (US 5,359,800). Nasef discloses the claimed invention but doesn’t expressly disclose the visual surface includes a brightly colored replaceable insert wherein the insert is glued into place, however Fisher et al. does. Fisher et al. teaches an aiming device for a firearm comprising a visual surface on a rear sight wherein the visual surface includes a brightly colored replaceable insert (26, 28) that is glued into place (col. 24, lines 24-65). All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded the predictable results of allowing the sights to be easily seen in both daylight and night time and there would have been a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/MICHELLE CLEMENT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641