DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-4, 9-11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smith (US 11,654,978).
Regarding claims 1 and 20, Smith discloses a system 20, comprising: first and second rails 22 extending along respective first and second side walls of a cargo area, the rails each defining a channel 41 that is closed at one end by a base surface and open to the cargo area at an opposite end (see Figure 5B); and a plurality of accessories 60 that are selectively mountable to at least one of the first rail and the second rail, wherein each accessory has a common base structure 66b that is received within the channel – see Figures 6A-6E. The method steps of claim 20 would be satisfied in the normal operation of the Smith device as applied to claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, the first and second rails 22 extend in a longitudinal direction and the first side wall and the second side wall extend in a vertical direction (Figure 2), and wherein the base surface extends at an angle that is non-parallel and non-perpendicular to a vertical axis extending in the vertical direction (see Figure 5B the bottom surface of each channel that is opposite lead lines 41c and 41b).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, see Figure 5B showing the base surface extends at a forty-five degree angle relative to the vertical axis and wherein the common base structure 66b has a planar end surface (bottom surface adjacent lead line 66c in Figure 6E) that is parallel to the base surface when installed in the channel 41.
Regarding claim 9, the side walls (Figure 5M) are each defined by a top edge 2 and an inner surface 5/7 that extends in a vertical direction from the top edge to a bottom surface of the cargo area (Figure 2), and wherein the rails 22 are mounted to the inner surface – see Figure 5M.
Regarding claim 10, the side walls are each defined by a length that extends from a forward end of the cargo area to a rearward end of the cargo area (Figure 2), and wherein the rails extend along an entirety of the length of the respective side walls (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 11, see Figure 5B showing each channel having first, second, third and fourth channel wall portions, an open gap and a c-shape cross section as claimed.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gruich (US 6,464,276).
Regarding claim 18, Gruich discloses an assembly comprising: a first and second side walls 15 extending along a length of a cargo area 14 in a longitudinal direction wherein the side walls are facing one another; a first and second side wall insert 16/20/80 that extend along the length of the respective side wall; and wherein each side wall insert comprises an outer profile surface 20/80 extending in a vertical direction from an upper edge of a respective one of the first side wall and the second side wall to a bottom surface of the cargo area (see Figures 1, 6 and 7), and wherein there is a constant vertical cross-section along a length of each side wall insert (Figure 1 and 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8, 12-17, and 19 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 COREY NELSON SKURDAL whose telephone number is (571)272-9588. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST.
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, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at 571-272-4544. 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.
/COREY N SKURDAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734