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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
The request filed on May 26, 2026 for a Request for Continuing Examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114 is acceptable and an RCE has been established. Any previous finality is hereby withdrawn and a new action on the merits follows. Any newly-submitted claims have been added. An action on the RCE follows.
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.
Claims 1, 10-12, 23 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stoffels et al. (US 7739834). Stoffels et al. discloses a manually operated gate comprising:
(a) a gate frame that includes a proximal upright member 20, an upper arm 40, a lower arm 40, and a distal upright member 30, the proximal upright member 20 being anchored to a stationary surface (not shown, but set forth on lines 30-31 of column 2), the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being coupled to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 40 to form a parallelogram, the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being pivotable relative to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 30 to move the gate frame between an open position in which the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 are generally vertical, as shown in figure 2, and a closed position in which the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 are generally horizontal as shown in figure 1; and
(b) a spring assembly 46 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), the first end of the spring assembly being pivotably attached to the lower arm 40 via brackets 48, and the second end of the spring assembly being pivotably attached to the distal upright member 30 of the gate frame via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40 (claim 1);
wherein the spring assembly 46 is configured to hold the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 generally vertically when the gate frame is in the open position as shown in figure 2 (claim 10);
wherein the gate frame further includes a spring assembly bracket 48 configured to be coupled to the spring assembly 46, the spring assembly bracket 48 having an installation section (labeled below) and an operation section (labeled below) (claim 11);
further comprising: (c) a gate catch 80 (fig. 5) anchored to the stationary surface and configured to receive the distal upright member 30 when the gate frame is in the closed position as shown in figure 1 (claim 12);
wherein the spring assembly 46 comprises a gas strut (claim 23);
wherein the spring assembly 46 is further configured to assist movement of the gate frame from the closed position to the open position (claim 24).
It should be noted that the examiner is defining the claim limitation “attached” as “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attached. As such, the spring assembly of Stoffels et al. is attached to both the lower arm and the distal upright member of the gate since the spring assembly 46 is connected to or joined to the lower arm 40 and is pivotally connected to or joined to the distal upright member via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40.
Claims 36-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Honeycutt (US 10208440). Honeycutt discloses a manually operated gate comprising:
(a) a gate frame that includes a proximal upright member 12, an upper arm 16, a lower arm 18, and a distal upright member 20, the proximal upright member 12 being anchored to a stationary surface (not shown), the upper arm 16 and the lower arm 18 being coupled to the proximal upright member 12 and the distal upright member 20 to form a parallelogram, the upper arm 16 and the lower arm 18 being pivotable relative to the proximal upright member 12 and the distal upright member 20 to move the gate frame between an open position in which the upper arm and the lower arm are generally vertical, as shown in figure 3, and a closed position in which the upper arm 16 and the lower arm 18 are generally horizontal, as shown in figure 1, the upper arm 16 being coupled to the proximal upright member 12 at a first pivot point 66, the lower arm 18 being coupled to the proximal upright member 12 at a second pivot point 68, the second pivot point 68 being horizontally spaced from the first pivot point 66 to enable vertical positioning of the upper arm 16 and the lower arm 18 when the gate frame is in the open position as shown in figure 3; and
(b) a spring assembly 78 (fig. 8) coupled to the gate frame, the spring assembly 78 having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), the first end of the spring assembly 78 being pivotably attached to the lower arm 18 of the gate frame via the proximal upright member 22 and the second end of the spring assembly being pivotably attached to the distal upright member 20 of the gate frame via the upper arm 16 (claim 36);
wherein the gate frame includes at least one bumper 54b (fig. 3) disposed between the upper arm 16 and the lower arm 18 to prevent pinch points (claim 37);
wherein the gate frame is configured such that, in the open position as shown in figure 3, the gate frame is positioned substantially within a footprint of the proximal upright member 12 (claim 38).
It should be noted that the examiner is defining the claim limitation “attached” as “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attached. As such, the spring assembly of Honeycutt pivotally attaches the lower arm to the distal upright member of the gate since the spring assembly is pivotally connected to or joined to the lower arm and pivotally connected to or joined to the distal upright member via the proximal upright member 12 and the upper arm 16.
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.
Claims 2-4, 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. as applied to claims 1, 10-12, 23 and 24 above, and further in view of Honeycutt et al. (US 2013/0219790). Honeycutt et al. discloses a gate 111 comprising an upper arm (labeled below) and a lower arm (labeled below), wherein the upper arm includes an upper main arm 404 and an upper arm extension (labeled below), and wherein the lower arm includes a lower main arm 406 and a lower arm extension (labeled below) (claim 2);
wherein the upper main arm and the lower main arm are coupled to a proximal upright member (labeled below) and the upper arm extension and the lower arm extension are coupled to the distal upright member (labeled below) (claim 3);
wherein the upper arm includes an upper arm overlap portion (labeled below) in which either the upper main arm fits within the upper arm extension or the upper arm extension fits within the upper main arm, and wherein the lower arm includes a lower arm overlap portion (labeled below) in which either the lower main arm fits within the lower arm extension or the lower arm extension fits within the upper lower main arm (claim 4);
wherein the gate frame further includes: an upper arm fastener 1104, 1108 (fig. 11A) configured to fasten the upper main arm and the upper arm extension together in the upper arm overlap portion by applying force directly to an outer surface of the upper main arm and to an outer surface of the upper arm extension, and a lower arm fastener 1104, 1108 configured to fasten the lower main arm and the lower arm extension together in the lower arm overlap portion by applying force directly to an outer surface of the lower main arm and to an outer surface of the lower arm extension (claim 21);
wherein the upper arm and the lower arm are each longitudinally adjustable (claim 22).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Stoffels et al. with telescoping arms, as taught by Honeycutt et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to easily adjust the width of the gate to accommodate various sized openings.
Claims 25-29, 33 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. (US 7739834) in view of Moore (US 3285322). Stoffels et al. discloses a manually operated gate comprising:
(a) a gate frame that includes a proximal upright member 20, an upper arm 40, a lower arm 40, and a distal upright member 30, the proximal upright member 20 being anchored to a stationary surface (not shown, but set forth on lines 30-31 of column 2), the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being coupled to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 30 to form a parallelogram, the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being pivotable relative to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 30 to move the gate frame between an open position in which the upper arm and the lower arm are generally vertical, as shown in figure 2, and a closed position, as shown in figure 1, in which the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 are generally horizontal; and
(b) a spring assembly 46 coupled to the gate frame, the spring assembly having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), the first end of the spring assembly 46 being pivotably attached to the lower arm 40 of the gate frame, as shown in figure 2, and the second end of the spring assembly being pivotably attached to the distal upright member 30 of the gate frame via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40, the spring assembly configured to assist movement of the gate frame from the closed position to the open position (claim 25);
wherein the spring assembly 46 comprises a gas strut (claim 26);
wherein the spring assembly 46 comprises a pair of gas struts 46 arranged in a side-by-side configuration as shown in figure 1 (claim 27);
wherein the spring assembly 46 is configured to assist movement of the gate frame from the closed position to the open position (claim 28);
further comprising: (c) a gate catch 80 (fig. 5) anchored to the stationary surface and configured to receive the distal upright member 30 when the gate frame is in the closed position as shown in figure 1 (claim 29);
wherein the gate frame further includes a spring assembly bracket 48 configured to be coupled to the spring assembly 46, the spring assembly bracket having an installation section (labeled below) and an operation section (labeled below) (claim 33);
wherein the spring assembly 46 is configured to hold the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 generally vertically when the gate frame is in the open position as shown in figure 2 (claim 34).
Stoffels et al. is silent concerning the spring assembly being configured to move the gate frame between the open position and the closed position.
However, Moore discloses a gate comprising a spring assembly 26 wherein the spring assembly 26 is coupled to a gate frame 11-13, 15-17, the spring assembly 26 configured to assist moving the gate frame 11-13, 15-17 between the open position and the closed position as set forth on lines 8-16 of column 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Stoffels et al. with an overcenter spring, as taught by Moore, with a reasonable expectation of success to aid a user with both opening and closing the gate.
It should be noted that the examiner is defining the claim limitation “attached” as “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attached. As such, the spring assembly of Stoffels et al. pivotally attaches the lower arm to the distal upright member of the gate since the spring assembly is pivotally connected to or joined to the lower arm and pivotally connected or joined to the distal upright member via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40.
Claims 30-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. and Moore as applied to claims 25-29, 33 and 34 above, and further in view of Honeycutt et al. (US 2013/0219790). Honeycutt et al. discloses a gate 111 comprising an upper arm (labeled below) and a lower arm (labeled below), wherein the upper arm includes an upper main arm 404 and an upper arm extension (labeled below), and wherein the lower arm includes a lower main arm 406 and a lower arm extension (labeled below) (claim 30);
wherein the upper main arm and the lower main arm are coupled to a proximal upright member (labeled below) and the upper arm extension and the lower arm extension are coupled to the distal upright member (labeled below) (claim 31);
wherein the upper arm includes an upper arm overlap portion (labeled below) in which either the upper main arm fits within the upper arm extension or the upper arm extension fits within the upper main arm, and wherein the lower arm includes a lower arm overlap portion (labeled below) in which either the lower main arm fits within the lower arm extension or the lower arm extension fits within the upper lower main arm (claim 32).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Stoffels et al., as modified above, with telescoping arms, as taught by Honeycutt et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to easily adjust the width of the gate to accommodate various sized openings.
Claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. in view of Moore as applied to claims 25-29, 33 and 34 above. Stoffels et al., as modified above, discloses that the gate frame, in the open position, is positioned within a foot print of the proximal upright member, but is silent concerning the gate frame being substantially positioned within the footprint of the proximal upright member.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill to provide the proximal upright member with a larger base 22, such that the gate frame, in the open position, is positioned substantially within the footprint of the proximal upright member, with a reasonable expectation of success, to more securely mount the proximal upright member to the underlying surface and to increase the stability of the gate frame as the gate frame moves between the opened and closed positions.
Claim 39 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. (US 7739834) in view of Moore (US 3285322). Stoffels et al. discloses a manually operated gate comprising:
(a) a gate frame that includes a proximal upright member 20, an upper arm 40, a lower arm 40, and a distal upright member 30, the proximal upright member 20 being anchored to a stationary surface (not shown, but set forth on lines 30-31 of column 2), the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being coupled to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 30 to form a parallelogram, the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 being pivotable relative to the proximal upright member 20 and the distal upright member 30 to move the gate frame between an open position in which the upper arm and the lower arm are generally vertical, as shown in figure 2, and a closed position in which the upper arm 40 and the lower arm 40 are generally horizontal as shown in figure 1;
(b) a spring assembly 46 (fig. 2) having a first end (labeled below) and a second end (labeled below), the first end of the spring assembly 46 being pivotally attached to the distal upright member 30 of the gate frame via the lower arm 40 and the second end of the spring assembly 46 being pivotably attached to the lower arm 40 of the gate frame via the upright member 20, the spring assembly configured to assist moving the gate frame from the closed position and the open position; and
(c) a gate catch 80 anchored to the stationary surface and configured to receive the distal upright member 30 when the gate frame is in the closed position as shown in figure 1.
Stoffels et al. is silent concerning the spring assembly moving the gate between the open position and the closed position.
However, Moore discloses a gate comprising a spring assembly 26 wherein the spring assembly 26 is coupled to a gate frame 11-13, 15-17, the spring assembly 26 configured to assist moving the gate frame 11-13, 15-17 between the open position and the closed position as set forth on lines 8-16 of column 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Stoffels et al. with an overcenter spring, as taught by Moore, with a reasonable expectation of success to aid a user with both opening and closing the gate.
It should be noted that the examiner is defining the claim limitation “attached” as “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attached. As such, the spring assembly of Stoffels et al. pivotally attaches the lower arm to the distal upright member of the gate since the spring assembly is pivotally connected to or joined to the distal upright member 30 via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40.
Claims 40 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stoffels et al. in view of Moore as applied to claim 39 above, and further in view of Honeycutt et al. (US 2013/0219790). Honeycutt et al. discloses a manually operated gate 111 comprising an upper arm 404 and a lower arm 406 wherein the upper arm 404 and the lower arm 406 of a frame of the gate are longitudinally adjustable to fit a variety of opening sizes (claim 40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Stoffels et al., as modified above, with adjustable upper and lower arms, as taught by Honeycutt et al., with a reasonable expectation of success to enable a user to adjust the size of the gate to fit various sized openings.
With respect to claim 41, Honeycutt et al. discloses that at least one of the upper arm 404 and the lower arm 406 of the gate frame have pre-drilled holes 500 (fig. 5A) to enable longitudinal adjustment to fit various sized openings, but is silent concerning the size of the openings.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art is expected to routinely experiment with parameters so as to ascertain the optimum or workable ranges for a particular use. Accordingly, it would have been no more than an obvious matter of engineering design choice, as determined through routine experimentation and optimization, for one of ordinary skill to provide the gate of Stoffels et al., as modified above, with a size so as to fit opening sizes of 8, 10, or 12 feet.
PNG
media_image1.png
1658
1116
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
1640
1102
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
1658
1118
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
1662
1116
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 20, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that the disclosure of an embodiment of the invention where the spring assembly can be coupled to the upper arm of the gate frame and the distal upright member limits the interpretation of the term “attached” to mean “directly attached”. The examiner fails to see how an alternative embodiment of the invention, not shown and not claimed, can limit the reasonable interpretation of the term “attached” to mean something other than “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary. It is suggested the applicant further amend the claims to recite “directly attached” or “mounted to” to more clearly recite the applicant’s invention and possibly define the invention over the prior art.
For convenience in understanding the examiner’s position, the examiner’s arguments in the previous office action have been repeated below.
The applicant argues that Stoffels et al. does not teach, suggest, or provide for a spring assembly that is pivotably attached to both the lower arm and the distal upright member. This is not found to be persuasive because the spring assembly 46 is pivotally attached to both the lower and the distal upright member. As shown below, the spring assembly 46 is directly pivotally attached to the lower arm 40. Additionally, the spring assembly 46 is pivotally attached to the distal upright member via the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40. In other words, the spring assembly 46 is pivotally attached to the distal upright member via the two bar linkage of the proximal upright member 20 and the upper arm 40.
PNG
media_image5.png
1640
1106
media_image5.png
Greyscale
The applicant next argues that Honeycutt does not teach, suggest, or provide any reasons for a spring assembly coupled to the gate assembly and the spring assembly pivotably attaching the lower arm to the distal upright member. This is not found to be persuasive because the spring assembly 78 is formed as an inner tubular element 72 as set forth on lines 12-16 of column 6. See figure 6 which shows that the spring assembly 72, 78 pivotally attaches the arm element 26a to the proximal upright member 12 via the tubular element 70. Thus, the spring assemblies 72, 78 pivotally attach the arms 16 and 18 to the proximal upright member 12. Note that both of the hinges can include a spring assembly 72, 78 as set forth on lines 12-14 of column 6. Both arms 16 and 18 are pivotally attached to the proximal upright member 12 via the spring assemblies 72, 78 and both arms are pivotally attached to the distal upright member 20. Thus, the lower spring assembly 72, 78 pivotally attaches the lower arm 18 to the proximal upright member 12 which is pivotally connected to the upper arm 16 via the upper spring assembly 72, 78. Since the upper arm 16 is also pivotally attached to the distal upright member 20, the lower arm 18 is pivotally attached to the distal upright member 20 via the lower spring assembly 72, 78.
PNG
media_image6.png
1662
1114
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Finally, it should be noted that the examiner is interpreting the claim limitation “attached” as “connected to or joined to something” as set forth by Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attached. Thus, the claim limitation “attached” does not require a direct coupling of the spring assembly to a respective one of the gate frame elements. Accordingly, the pivotal coupling of the spring assembly to a respective one of the gate frame elements can include intervening elements as set forth in the rejections above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS NOT MADE FINAL.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY J STRIMBU whose telephone number is (571)272-6836. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/GREGORY J STRIMBU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634
Prosecution Insights