DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
0. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
1. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 17, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
2. 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 "channel-length lips" {recited in claim 8 and at least para. [0043] of the specification of the instant application} 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: para. [0023] describes the vehicle 100 is present in Fig. 1; however, no element 100 is present in any of the drawings. 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. 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. Examiner acknowledges that the element “vehicle 100” may be corrected to “vehicle 102” as expressed throughout the rest of the specification (see below), which would overcome this objection.
Specification
3. The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Para. [0023] recites "vehicle 100" - however, the remainder of the specification and drawings recite "vehicle 102". It appears Applicant erroneously attributed element 100 to the vehicle in para. [0023] instead of element 102.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
4. Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 9 and 10 recite the limitation "ruler measurement indicia" in line 2 of the claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, Examiner will interpret “ruler measurement indicia” to mean “measurement indicia formed on the ruler”.
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.
5. Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kogut (US 20170190302 A1; Kogut, A. - hereinafter "Kogut").
In regard to claims 1-8, Kogut discloses:
{claim 1} a cargo box measurement system [vehicle body panel retrieval tool and storage compartment], comprising: a cover [interior face of a tailgate 102, face shown in Fig. 1] disposed over and attached to a surface of a sidewall panel of a cargo box of a vehicle [tailgate 102/602], the cover comprising a channel [cavity 108 having opening 110]: formed in a cover surface that faces the sidewall panel {Fig. 1 shows opening 110 on a sidewall 112 of the tailgate 108; described at least in para. [0020]}; and that extends inward from an edge of the cover [shown in Fig. 1]; and a ruler {elongate member 200, described as at least a ruler in para. [0026]} slidably positioned within the channel and between the cover and the sidewall panel [elongate member is inserted and removed from the opening, abstract], the ruler is extendable from the channel away from the sidewall panel and the cover {para. [0024] describes that the body 202 of the ruler may be a telescoping body that would extend out of the cavity, thus away from the sidewall 112 of tailgate 102 shown in Fig. 1};
{claim 2} that the sidewall panel is a tailgate [tailgate 102] pivotally connected [shown in Fig. 1] to adjacent sidewall panels of the cargo box [sidewalls 104 and 106]; the cover is disposed over and attached to a box-facing surface of the tailgate [shown in Fig. 1]; the channel extends inward from a lateral edge of the cover [shown in Fig. 1]; and the ruler is extendable laterally away from the tailgate and the cover {para. [0024] describes that the body 202 of the ruler may be a telescoping body that would extend out of the cavity, thus away from the sidewall 112 of tailgate 102 shown in Fig. 1};
{claim 3} that the channel is positioned at a distal end of the cover away from the cargo box {Fig. 1 shows that opening 110 is closer to the distal end of the tailgate 102, para. [0020] describes that the opening 110 may be located anywhere along the tailgate 102, thus including at the distal end};
{claim 4} that the ruler is extendable laterally away from the tailgate and the cover in a first lateral direction {para. [0024] describes that the body 202 of the ruler may be a telescoping body that would extend out of the cavity, thus away from the sidewall 112 of tailgate 102 shown in Fig. 1, thus a first lateral direction}; and the cargo box measurement system further comprises a second ruler slidably positioned within the channel and between the cover and the sidewall panel {para. [0021] describes that the tailgate 102 may include multiple openings with a plurality (or a shared cavity 108 with a plurality of openings) of tools at any location of the tailgate, thus a second opening with a second elongate member ruler on the side opposite of side 112 of the tailgate}, the second ruler is extendable from the channel away from the sidewall panel and the cover in a second lateral direction that is opposite the first lateral direction {utilizing the embodiment described in para. [0020] with a cavity 108 with a plurality of openings such that a first opening is on the side 112 of the tailgate 102, and a second opening being on the opposite side of tailgate 102, with a second elongate member ruler in the second opening, such that the second ruler may be a telescoping body that would extend out of the cavity (as described in para. [0024]), thus a second ruler is extendable from the cavity in a second lateral direction opposite the first lateral direction};
{claim 5} that the cover is disposed over and attached to a top surface of the sidewall panel [interior face of the tailgate 102 covers the tailgate 102, shown as attached in Fig. 1]; and the channel extends inward from a distal edge of the cover [shown in Fig. 1];
{claim 6} that the ruler is removable from the channel [elongate member can be removed from the opening, abstract];
{claim 7} further comprising a hooked tab at a distal end of the ruler {paras. [0022]-[0023] describe the elongate member having a handle 206 including a coupling mechanism 204, such that the coupling mechanism may be a protrusion (hooked tab); Fig. 2 shows coupling mechanism 204 at a distal end of the elongate member 200} that extends out of the channel and above a height of the cover {para. [0024] describes that the elongate member 200 may not fully fit within the cavity 108, thus the protrusion could extend out of the cavity 108 and past the opening 110}; and
{claim 8} that the channel is a three-sided channel {para. [0019] describes that the cavity may be any opening or space of any shape, thus a three-sided cavity} with interior walls [Fig. 1 shows the outline of interior walls] adjacent a top surface of the ruler and side surfaces of the ruler [abstract describes the elongate member inserted into the cavity opening, thus the distal end of the ruler would be adjacent to the outline of interior cylindrical walls shown in Fig. 1]; and the channel further comprises at least one of: longitudinally-spaced tabs that extend from sidewalls of the channel underneath a bottom surface of the ruler; or channel-length lips [edge of the opening 110] that extend from the sidewalls of the channel underneath the bottom surface of the ruler [Fig. 1 shows that the shape of the edge of the opening 110 is continuous throughout the container, which would be under the bottom (ground side) of the elongate member 220; in the embodiment that the channel is a three-sided interior, the shape of the edges (lips) of the channel would extend the length of the channel and under a bottom surface of a ruler}.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
6. Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kogut as applied to claims 1-8 above, and further in view of Kovie (US 7862269 B2; Kovie, D.; cited in IDS filed June 17, 2024 - hereinafter "Kovie") and Swanson (US 2270355 A; Swanson, C. - hereinafter "Swanson").
In regard to claims 9 and 10, although Kogut teaches that the elongate member ruler is a telescoping ruler {para. [0024]}, Kogut is not explicit that the cover of the tailgate has measurement indicia, nor does it teach a relation of measurement indicia between the tailgate cover and the elongate member ruler.
However, Kovie also teaches a cargo ox measurement system [vehicle cargo bed] such that there are measurement indica on the cover of the tailgate and side walls [Fig. 2 shows measurement indica on the top of the side walls of the cargo box and along the distal end of the tailgate].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included Kovie’s measurement indicia formed on a cover with Kogut’s vehicle body panel retrieval tool and storage compartment in order to better provide a user with a redundancy of measuring tools, as taught by Kovie [col. 1 lines 11-21].
Kogut in view of Kovie is not explicit as to the relation of the measurement indicia of the cover and the telescoping elongate member ruler.
However, the use of a plurality of measurement indicia, either sequential or independent, is well-known in the art of telescoping rulers, as taught by Swanson [col. 3 lines 11-24 describe an auxiliary section 22 that continuous the scale marking of section 1 that is independent of the scale markings of rule section ‘i’, shown in Fig. 1].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used Swanson’s practice of using both continuous scales and independent scales on a telescoping ruler with Kogut in view of Kovie’s vehicle body panel retrieval tool and storage compartment – using Kovie’s cover measurement indicia as a telescoping feature of Kogut’s telescoping ruler for a continuous and independent scale – in order to be better suited for making smaller or greater measurements, as taught by Swanson [col. 4 lines 3-11].
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Said prior art pertains to vehicular measurement apparatus and methods, graded measurement devices, and vehicular storage devices and methods.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL QUINN whose telephone number is (571)272-2690. The examiner can normally be reached T-R 07:00-19:00, F 07:00-11:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOHN BREENE can be reached at (571)272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL M QUINN/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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