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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roy (9,994,088).
Roy discloses a windshield and roof assembly for an off-road vehicle 10, the assembly comprising a windshield 100 comprising a top edge, and a lower edge opposite the top edge; a roof 78 comprising a front edge, and a rear edge opposite the front edge; and at least one hinge assembly 102, 104 comprising a vehicle portion configured for connecting to a frame member of the vehicle, a windshield portion pivotally connected to the vehicle portion, the windshield being connected to the windshield portion near the top edge of the windshield, and a roof portion pivotally connected to the vehicle portion, the roof being connected to the roof portion near the front edge of the roof, as shown in Figure 1. The windshield 100 further comprises at least one latch 112 for selectively maintaining the windshield in the lowered position, the at least one latch being connected near the lower edge of the windshield, as shown in Figure 7. The at least one hinge assembly includes a left hinge assembly 102 connected to a left side portion of the windshield and a left side of the roof; and a right hinge assembly 104 connected to a right side portion of the windshield and a right side of the roof. The at least one hinge assembly 102, 104 is a plurality of hinge assemblies connected to the windshield and the roof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 5, 6 and 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The recitation of a roof portion pivotable and/or rotationally to a vehicle portion, a windshield portion knuckle, a roof portion knuckle and a pin extending through the vehicle portion knuckle in combination with the rest of the recited elements, clearly defines over the prior art.
Claims 11-20 allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The recitation of a roof portion pivotable and/or rotationally to a vehicle portion in combination with the rest of the recited elements, clearly defines over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art recited discloses common inventive concepts as the claimed present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Faye M. Fleming whose telephone number is (571)272-6672. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivek Koppikar can be reached at (571) 272-5109. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FAYE M FLEMING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3612
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