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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Malaysia on 6/24/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the PI2023003832 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 “anterior-posterior horizontal beam” recited in Claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Please note: it appears that the applicant is referring to element 12 (“horizontal beam”)
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 Objections
Claims 4-6 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim cannot depend from any other multiple dependent claim. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims not been further treated on the merits.
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.
Claims 1-3 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. Claim 1 recites “the frame” which renders the claims indefinite. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Additionally, the claim attempts to describe a walker frame by listing components, one of which is the frame itself. A device cannot be defined recursively. For the purposes of examination, the claim will be treated as reciting “an anterior-posterior horizontal beam with one end attached to a main frame” (emphasis added).
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fulkerson in US Patent 12226363.
Regarding Claim 1, Fulkerson teaches a walking frame comprising: an anterior-posterior horizontal beam (94) with one end attached to a main frame (59), and the other end attached to a seat (140), and a backrest comprising two side brackets (16/16’) that can be open (Fig. 1) or closed (Fig. 4) by rotating means (100/110).
Regarding Claim 2, Fulkerson teaches that the walking frame is in a cantilever configuration (the seat is cantilevered from the main frame in the same manner as the applicant’s).
Regarding Claim 3, Fulkerson teaches that the walking frame is wheeled (35/35’/37/37’).
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mulholland in US Patent 7275554.
Regarding Claim 1, Mulholland teaches a walking frame comprising: an anterior-posterior horizontal beam (64) with one end attached to a main frame (12), and the other end attached to a seat (62), and a backrest comprising two side brackets (52/54) that can be open (see arrows G/H in Fig. 5) or closed (Fig. 1) by rotating means (57/59).
Regarding Claim 2, Mulholland teaches that the walking frame is in a cantilever configuration (the seat is cantilevered from the main frame in the same manner as the applicant’s).
Regarding Claim 3, Mulholland teaches that the walking frame is wheeled (36).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Duke, Moore et al., Marchetti, Li, Karlsson, Palmer et al., Fawcett et al., and Motloch teach walker frames with seats.
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.
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, 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