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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02-12-2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02-12-2026 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The claims are rejected because of the limitations “a recessed receptacle” lacks support in the original specification which filed 04-20-2024; therefore such lack of detailed support in the original disclosure constitutes new matter.
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) 1-4 and 8-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Franzino et al. (2022/0071336).
Regarding claim 1, Franzino discloses a modular side shroud assembly for a helmet mounting system associated with a helmet having a shell, the side shroud assembly (figs 1-23C) comprising: a housing enclosing shroud circuitry, the housing configured to detachably couple to a lateral side portion of the helmet shell, the lateral side portion of the helmet shell being positioned adjacent an ear region of a user when the helmet is worn by the user (member 12);
PNG
media_image1.png
458
577
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a proximal end of the housing configured to couple to a rear battery interface of the helmet mounting system (member 62, para 0101); and
a forward end of the housing having defining a recessed receptacle (fig 5 annotated above) formed in the housing, the recessed receptacle being configured to removably couple a plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices, wherein the recessed receptacle includes an electrical connector for electrically coupling disposed within the recessed receptacle and electrically coupled to the shroud circuitry enclosed within the housing, and wherein the recessed receptacle is configured to receive at least a portion of a body of each of the plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices such that the portion of the body is disposed within the recessed receptacle (fig 1-5, member 82, para 0088).
Regarding claim 2, Franzino discloses in combination with the plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices, wherein the plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices are modular and interchangeable for a plurality of utilities, a plurality of designs, or both (para 0088).
Regarding claim 3, Franzino discloses the plurality of accessory devices are selected from the group consisting of headlamps, cameras, cable adapters, visible light headlamps, infrared headlamps, multi-color headlamps, off-band headlamps, and any combination thereof (para 0088).
Regarding claim 4, Franzino discloses the electrical connector is a USB type-C socket (para 0113).
Regarding claim 8, Franzino discloses said shroud circuitry comprises a powered interface circuit board and a flex circuit comprising circuit components on a flexible substrate extending between the powered interface circuit board and at least one side shroud electrical contact (para 0102).
Regarding claim 9, Franzino discloses a powered rail and data interface portion comprising at least one attachment position configured for removable attachment and powering of a rail mountable accessory device (para 0085).
Regarding claim 10, Franzino discloses a helmet mounting system comprising first and second modular side shroud assemblies in accordance with claim 1 (figs 1-23C).
Regarding claim 11, Franzino discloses any one or more of an identification friend or foe (IFF) module, a controller module in electrical communication with the housing circuitry, and a video camera recording module in electrical communication with the housing circuitry (para 0088).
Regarding claim 12, Franzino discloses the plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices includes a camera, the helmet mounting apparatus further comprising a wireless communication interface configured to transmit video information over a wireless network (para 0084 and 0086).
Regarding claim 13, Franzino discloses the plurality of modular and interchangeable accessory devices includes a camera selected from the group consisting of a visible light camera, a low lux camera, a thermal camera, and an infrared camera (para 0027).
Regarding claim 14, Franzino discloses a rear bridge link assembly attachable to the helmet intermediate the first and second modular side shroud assemblies, the rear bridge link assembly configured to electrically couple the shroud circuitry of the first modular side shroud assembly and the second modular side shroud assembly (member 62).
Regarding claim 15, Franzino discloses a front shroud assembly configured to be attached to a front of the helmet and a strap extending between the front shroud assembly and the rear bridge link assembly, the strap housing a plurality of electrical conductors for electrically coupling the front shroud assembly to the rear bridge link assembly (member 60, para 0085 and 0087).
Regarding claim 16, Franzino discloses said proximal end of each of said first and second side shroud assemblies comprises a lip (the structure which receive member 81); and said rear bridge link assembly comprises a side flange (member 80) that engages with each of said lips to form a mechanical coupling between each of the first and second side shroud assemblies and the rear bridge link assembly (para 0095).
Regarding claim 17, Franzino discloses the rear bridge link assembly includes at least one battery interface (member 64) for detachable coupling to a battery pack (para 0098).
Regarding claim 18, Franzino discloses the rear bridge link assembly is operable to transmit one or both of data and control signals between the first and second modular side shroud assemblies (para 0138 and 0154).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Franzino et al. (2022/0071336) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Teetzel et a. (2008/0170838).
Regarding claims 5-6, Franzino teaches all limitations of the claims except the receptacle includes a threaded retention hole configured to receive a threaded fastener on one of accessory devices when the one of the accessory devices is coupled to the receptacle, wherein the threaded fastener is captured on a housing of the accessory device.
Teetzel teaches a system having the recessed receptacle includes a threaded retention hole configured to receive a threaded fastener on one of accessory devices when the one of the accessory devices is coupled to the receptacle, wherein the threaded fastener is captured on a housing of the accessory device (para 0024).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the system of Moore by using the threaded fastener structure of Teetzel since the threaded fastener structure is well-known in the art to provide a connection.
Regarding claim 7, Moore teaches all limitations of the claim except the recessed receptacle includes a sealing surface disposed thereon and configured to inhibit intrusion of moisture.
Teetzel teaches a system having the receptacle includes a sealing surface disposed thereon and configured to inhibit intrusion of moisture (para 0044).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to modify the system of Moore by using a sealing of Teetzel in order to protect the structure.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BAO-THIEU L NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-0476. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7am-3pm.
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, KHOA D. HUYNH can be reached at (571)272-4888. 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.
BAO-THIEU L. NGUYEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3732
/BAO-THIEU L NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732