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 .
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s amendment filed on 9/8/26.
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 limitations of claims 11, 12 and 14, 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.
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 1-5, 7, and 9-14 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 requires a handle mount that is configured to rotate. At the instant, the limitation is indefinite since without the handle, the mount can move at all. The mount does not move by itself, as claimed.
Therefore, in order to continue with the examination, the claim will be interpreted and examined as in claim 16, with the handle limitation. Correction is required.
Claim 11 requires that the cam includes a cam-out surface configured to interface with the cam-in feature or a cam-out feature on the server rack, the cam-out surface having a decreasing radius from the cam rotation-axis as the cam rotates in a first direction.
At the instant, it is unclear what is claimed here since there are no illustration of the feature and no clear description.
Furthermore, the claim requires that this cam out surface interacts with the cam-in feature also. At the instant it is unclear how that is possible.
Therefore, in order to continue with the examination, a broad interpretation will be given. Correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 are allowed.
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Response to Arguments
With respect to the drawing objection and 112 2nd paragraph rejections, the applicant argues that there is no requirement that the drawings show every features specified in the claims. Rather, the requirement is that a drawing will be furnished when it is needed for understanding by one of ordinary skill.
Applicant is required to clearly illustrate and describe the invention claimed.
First, with respect to claim 8 and claim 14, the current amendment to claim 8 (cancellation of the claim) and the current remarks to claim 14, overcome the previous issue.
With respect to claim 11, the claim requires:
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Here is what is illustrated and described:
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As clearly shown above, no one having ordinary skill in the art will look at the drawing and the specification and come up to define this cam-out surface or cam-out feature.
Is the cam-out surface the outer surface of the cam 112? If that is the case, then how the outer surface interact with the cam-in feature 124a? and, which structure is suppose to be the cam-out feature?
Therefore, the drawing objection and the 112 2nd paragraph rejection is maintained.
With respect to the 112 2nd paragraph rejection to claim 1, the applicant argues that the handle is not necessary since the handle mount is configured to rotate via any means (e.g., a hand, a bar, a pipe, a wrench, the handle, or any other means).
There is no supper for “any means” in the application. Therefore, the rejection is maintained and the previous interpretation is also maintained (same as in claim 16).
As to the prior art rejection, adding the limitations of previous claim 6, overcomes the prior art rejection.
Since the examiner will not change the position shown above, as for claim 1, the applicant can either provide an amendment to overcome the issues above (by adding the handle as in claim 16 and either provide a corrected drawing or cancelation of claim 11), or, in order to expedite prosecution, file an appeal brief to allow the Board of Appeals to decide.
Prosecution has been closed.
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 CARLOS LUGO whose telephone number is (571)272-7058. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (571)272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Carlos Lugo/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3675
October 8, 2026
