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
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, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2015/0041744 to Higgs (hereinafter “Higgs”).
-From Claim 1: Higgs discloses a base 10 for a safety system, the base comprising:
a clamp 30 opening on a top surface thereof;
channels 27 running on a bottom surface of the base from opposite side walls of the base; and
a through hole 25 from the top surface to the bottom surface;
wherein said clamp is configured to receive a bottom end of a post 48 in the safety system.
-From Claim 2: Higgs discloses wherein said bottom end is further secured to said clamp using a screw inserted through one of said side walls. (¶53)
-From Claim 4: Higgs discloses wherein said base is a first one of at least two said bases stacked one on top of the other using a post inserted in through respective through hole. (¶55)
-From Claim 5: Higgs discloses wherein at least one of the side walls of the base comprises at least one insert housing 40, 41.
-From Claim 7: Higgs discloses wherein at least one of the side walls of the base comprises at least one insert cutout 27 and a kickplate bracket 37 attached to the insert cutout.
-From Claim 9: Higgs discloses a base 10 for a safety system, the base comprising:
a top surface, a bottom surface and side walls;
at least one clamp 30 opening in said top surface;
at least one channel 27 in said bottom surface; and
at least one through hole 25 from said bottom surface to said top surface;
wherein at least one of :
i) the safety system comprises a post 48, said clamp 30 receives an end of the post and the end of the post is secured to the clamp opening using a fastener inserted from one of said side wall into abutment with the post in the clamp opening; (¶53)
-From Claim 11: Higgs discloses a system comprising at least a first base and a second base (See Fig. 17), each comprising at least one clamp 30 opening in a top surface thereof, a bottom surface, side walls, at least one channel 27 in said bottom surface; and at least one through hole 25 from said bottom surface to said top surface;
wherein at least one of:
iii) the system comprises a post 48, the post is inserted through the through hole of the first base and the through hole of the second bases;
-From Claim 18: Higgs discloses wherein the bases 10 are molded in a plastic material (¶20) with the clamp integrated therein.
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.
Claim(s) 16 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higgs.
-From Claims 16 and 17: Higgs does not specifically disclose wherein the bases are molded in rubber, and/or with the clamp and channels integrated therein. Rather Higgs only discloses the bases being made of polymeric materials and/or injection molding techniques (¶20)
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Higgs by making the bases and the clamps therein out of molded rubber since this would involve a mere change of material, and it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12-15 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 channels in Higgs, such as they are, do not cross along the bottom surface of the base, nor does Higgs contemplate the disposition of posts within such channels as part of assembling the safety system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, as the cited references include structure similar to that of the presently claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J WILEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7324. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at 5712705281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL J WILEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678 3/23/2026
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