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 .
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.
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.
CLAIMS 31 AND 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Thorud et al. (US 4,694,594 A).
CLAIM 31 Thorud et al. ‘594 (“Thorud”) shows a snow thrower (2) comprising:
an intake housing (4) comprising a first kicker and a second kicker (120; col. 11, ll. 46-51) defining a chute opening (22) therebetween; and
a rotor assembly (30) having a first auger (36), a second auger (36), wherein the first and second augers comprise metal (40), and a paddle (32) disposed between the first and second augers (Fig. 5), the rotor assembly fixed to a shaft (38) and the shaft configured to rotate around an axis (Fig. 88);
wherein the paddle (32) comprises a throwing surface;
the first auger (left 36, Fig. 1) having a leading end adjacent to a first side of the intake housing, a trailing end adjoining the throwing surface, and a conveying surface extending between the leading end and the trailing end; and
the second auger (right 36, Fig. 1) having a leading end adjacent to a second side of the intake housing, a trailing end adjoining the throwing surface, and a conveying surface extending between the leading end and the trailing end; and
CLAIM 32 further comprising a first opening (left housing opening) configured to receive the first auger (left 36), and a second opening (right housing opening) configured to receive the second auger (right 36).
Allowable Subject Matter
CLAIMS 21-30 AND 34-40 are allowed.
CLAIM 33 is 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
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/TARA MAYO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/tm/
27 June 2026
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