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 .
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains legal phraseology such as the term “comprising”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “blinds” recited in Claim 2 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 of carrying out his invention.
Claim 2 is 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 disclosure mentions the term “blinds” only once in the Specification and does not provide any detail as to what the applicant considers a “blind.” For the purposes of examination, any canopy section that has means for passing light and/or fluid through the canopy will be considered sufficient to meet this limitation in the claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brown in US Patent 5868152. Brown teaches an umbrella, comprising: a shaft (11); a first canopy (A, see below); and a second canopy (B), wherein: the first canopy has alternating solid material and open sections (between adjacent petals 29); the second canopy has alternating solid material and open sections (between adjacent petals 29); the first canopy is attached to the shaft above the second canopy (see Fig. 6 where canopy A overlaps canopy B); and the first canopy and the second canopy are configured to rotate relative to each other around the shaft (See Fig. 6).
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Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Engdahl et al. in US Patent 4962780. Engdahl teaches an umbrella, comprising: a shaft (16); a first canopy (13); and a second canopy (14), wherein: the first canopy is made of a polarized translucent material (“flexible polarizing film” – See Column 3, lines 25-28); the second canopy is made of a polarized translucent material (“flexible polarizing film” – See Column 3, lines 25-28); the first canopy is attached to the shaft above the second canopy (see Fig. 1); and the first canopy and the second canopy are configured to rotate relative to each other around the shaft (see Figs. 3-4).
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) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown as applied to Claim 1 above in view of Glaeser in US Patent 3863660. Brown is silent on the use of blinds in the canopy. Glaeser teaches an umbrella including a canopy (Fig. 2) having blinds (22 – see Fig. 3B). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Brown by using a canopy having blinds as taught by Glaeser for the first and/or second canopies in order to, as Glaeser teaches, control the quality of sunlight that passes through the canopy.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Vazquez et al., EP 0632976, and DE 19705572 teach umbrellas.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOAH C. HAWK whose telephone number is (571)272-1480. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Dunn can be reached at 5712726670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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NOAH C. HAWK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3636
/Noah Chandler Hawk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636