DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. This communication is in response to the restriction to Application No. 18/737,383 filed on 6/3/26. Elected Group II claims 15 – 19 has been examined.
Election/Restrictions
3. Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1 - 20 in the reply filed on 7/31/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that a mere statement of conclusion is inadequate. The reasons upon which the conclusion is based should be given. This is not found persuasive because the claims are independent and have different limitation(s) and it will be a search burden on the examiner.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claim(s) 15 – 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tofigh et al. (US 2014/0265765, Tofigh hereafter).
Regarding claim 15, Tofigh teaches A case (Fig. 1 C, 152) for attaching a mobile device to a mount, the case comprising:
an attachment for attaching the case to the mobile device (side bumpers of case 152);
a cover having an inner surface arranged to face the mobile device when the case is attached to the mobile device (inner face of case 152) and an outer
surface arranged to face a front face of the mount when the mount is attached
to the case (outer face of case 152 and cleat 150);
a first opening in the cover (opening between the cleat and the outer face of the case in a first side, Fig. 1C) and
a second opening in the cover (the opening on a second side opposed to the first opening, Fig. 1C); and
a first overhang (one side of cleat 150) and a second overhang (second side of cleat 150) that define first and second undercuts in respective side walls of the first and second openings for mating with corresponding respective overhangs of first and second coupling members of the mount.
Regarding claim 16, The case of claim 15, wherein the first overhang and second overhand are integrally formed in the cover (one side of cleat 150; second side of cleat 150, as shown in Fig. 1C).
Regarding claim 17, The case of claim 15, wherein the first and second openings are positioned symmetrically about a centreline of the cover (inherent since the device will have both sides symmetrically from centerline).
Regarding claim 18, The case of claim 15 comprising a third opening in the cover and a fourth opening in the cover, the third and fourth openings for receiving respective positioning members of the mount for positioning the mount relative to the case (Fig. 2A-B, 3A-B, shows openings, can be broadly interpreted as third and fourth).
Regarding claim 19, The case of claim 18 wherein the first and second openings are spaced apart in a first direction, and the third and fourth openings are spaced apart in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction (one is horizontal direction the other is vertical direction, Fig. 1 - 3).
Conclusion
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TANMAY K SHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3624. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri - 8:00 - 5:00.
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, Chieh Fan can be reached at 571-272-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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TANMAY K. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2632
/TANMAY K SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632