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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 4/29/2024. These drawings are accepted in light of the amendments to Claim 20.
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haythornthwaite in US Publication 2015/0096601 in view of Wu in US Patent 4934395 (Wu ‘395).
Haythornthwaite teaches an umbrella comprising: an elongated shaft (110) having a first end (toward 120) and an opposite second end (toward 130); a runner (150) slidably disposed about the elongated shaft; and a plurality of rib assemblies (200), each rib assembly being attached to the runner by a strut (300) that moves between open (Fig. 7) and closed (Fig. 1) positions in which in the open position, ribs of the rib assembly are in an open, extended position and in the closed position, the ribs of the rib assembly are in a closed, collapsed position; an anti-inversion mechanism that is configured to apply to each rib assembly a force that counters an inversion force that is applied to the umbrella, the anti-inversion mechanism including a flexible elongated wire (420) that is disposed exteriorly along a flat bottom surface (see Fig. 10) of an elongated rib (410/220) of the rib assembly, when the rib assembly is in the open position, the flexible elongated wire having a first bent end (426) that is attached to the flat bottom surface of the elongated rib of the rib assembly at a location spaced inward from a joint at which the rib assembly pivots (the rib assembly pivots at 413), wherein the first bent end passes through an opening (the opening into which 427 is inserted) formed in the bottom of the rib (see Fig. 10) and is anchored within an interior of the elongated rib, and a flexible elongated structure (297) having a first end attached to the flexible elongated wire (at 424) of the anti-inversion mechanism and a second end (at 430) attached to one rib of the rib assembly, wherein the second flexible elongated structure comprises a cord (a “wire”).
Haythornthwaite is silent on the use of a C-shaped metal rib. Wu ‘395 teaches an umbrella with a second elongated rib (21) comprising a C-shaped metal rib member defined by a pair of opposing side walls and a connector wall extending between the opposing side walls (see Fig. 6) at the bottom surface of the rib. 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 Haythornthwaite by using a c-shaped elongated rib as taught by Wu in order to provide a lightweight and durable rib. Such a device, with the connector wall at the bottom surface of the rib, will inherently include the first bent end passing through the opening formed in the connector wall and anchored within an interior of the elongated rib between the opposing side walls.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 and 21-23 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Please see the amended rejection of Claim 20 set forth above. Haythornthwaite, as modified, teaches all of the limitations in the claim.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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 C. Hawk/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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