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 under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17297451, filed on 26 May 2021.
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) 1 and 3-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over GB 2472853 A to Ritson in view of US 2925774 to Scheeler.
Re Claim 1, Ritson teaches:
A baby crib (at least Fig. 1 and [Abstract] “toddler bed”), comprising:
a crib body (at least Fig. 1 element 4 and [p. 8 line 25] “enclosure 4”.) comprising:
a crib frame (at least Fig. 1 element 4 and [p. 8 line 25] “enclosure 4”.) formed by a plurality of rods (at least Figs. 1 and 3 element 24 and [p. 8 lines 30-35] “frame 24”.) comprising an upper rod (at least Fig. 1 element 30 and [p. 9 lines 1-8] “gripping portion 30”.);
a plurality of soft goods made of a soft material and fixed on the crib frame (at least Fig. 1 element 26 and [p. 9 lines 1-8] “screen 26”.), the plurality of soft goods comprising an upper rod soft goods fixed on the upper rod (at least Fig. 1 element 26 and [p. 9 lines 1-8] “screen 26”.);
a crib accommodating space enclosed by the crib frame and the soft goods (at least Fig. 1); wherein an entire upper rod or a portion of the upper rod on one of side of the crib frame is adjustable in height in a vertical direction between upper and lower ends of the crib frame (at least Figs. 1-2 and [p. 9 lines 1-5] “The screen 26 is moveable from a fully raised position as shown in Figure 1 to a lowered position as shown in Figure 2”.);
wherein the crib frame is provided with a tightening mechanism (at least Fig. 13c element 80 and [p. 12 lines 10-16] “extension springs 80 are provided on the guiding member 34”.), one end of the tightening mechanism is fixed to the crib frame, and an other end of the tightening mechanism is connected to the soft goods provided on the upper rod (at least Fig. 13c element 80 and [p. 12 lines 10-16] “extension springs 80 are provided on the guiding member 34”.);
when the upper rod is adjusted in height and drives the soft goods provided on the upper rod to move, the tightening mechanism is capable of being contracted or stretched correspondingly to provide a tightening force to the soft goods provided on the upper rod (at least Fig. 13c element 80 and [p. 12 lines 9-16] “a constant force is applied to the lower end of the screen, toward the guiding member 34, to keep the screen 26 taught at all times”.).
Ritson does not explicitly teach:
wherein the soft goods provided on the upper rod wrap the upper rod, and the soft goods provided on the upper rod are fixed via a pressing rod provided below the upper rod and fixed to the upper rod.
However, Scheeler teaches:
wherein the soft goods provided on the upper rod wrap the upper rod (at least Fig. 3 shows soft goods wrapped around rod 29), and the soft goods provided on the upper rod are fixed via a pressing rod provided below the upper rod and fixed to the upper rod (at least Fig. 3 element 32).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the baby crib taught by Ritson with the soft goods wrapping and fixing taught by Scheeler with a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results. A person having ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so because “The screen is therefore pinched throughout the length of the rods at three linear regions” (Scheeler [Col. 2 lines 35-50]).
Re Claim 3, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 1 (detailed with respect to claim 1).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the tightening mechanism is an elastic member or a furling mechanism (at least Fig. 13c element 80 and [p. 12 lines 10-16] “extension springs 80 are provided on the guiding member 34”.).
Re Claim 4, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 3 (detailed with respect to claim 3).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the elastic member is an elastic cloth or an elastic band (at least [p. 12 lines 10-20] “a spring loaded screen 26 is shown in which the screen is provided on a spring loaded roller member 84”.).
Re Claim 5, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 3 (detailed with respect to claim 3).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the elastic member is a spring; one end of the spring is fixed to the crib frame, the other end of the spring is hooked to an edge of the upper rod soft goods (at least Fig. 13c element 80 and [p. 12 lines 10-16] “extension springs 80 are provided on the guiding member 34”.).
Re Claim 6, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 5 (detailed with respect to claim 5).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein an outside of the spring is sleeved with a cloth cover or plastic (at least [p. 12 lines 10-20] “a spring loaded screen 26 is shown in which the screen is provided on a spring loaded roller member 84”.).
Re Claim 7, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 1 (detailed with respect to claim 1).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the upper rod is provided with a groove in a middle portion thereof, and the upper rod soft goods is fixed in the groove (at least Fig. 6a with Examiner’s labeling).
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Re Claim 8, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 1 (detailed with respect to claim 1).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the crib frame is provided with a sliding groove in the vertical direction at a side thereof where the upper rod is provided (at least Figs. 3-7 element 36 and [p. 9 lines 9-20] “The guiding member 34 aides in locating the screen 26 in a channel 36. The channel 36 comprise grooves channelled into the frame 24 of the enclosure 4 to form tracks. The channel 36 is dimensioned to receive locating members as will be described in detail below. In particular, the channel or tracks 36 are provided into the frame 24 of the second and fourth side walls 14, 18. The channel 36 extends down from an upper most part of said side walls 14,18 downwardly and transverse along the longitudinal axis of the frame 24 of the said side walls 14, 18.”.), both ends of the upper rod are fixedly provided with a sliding block capable of sliding in the sliding groove (at least Figs. 3-7 elements 32 and 44, collectively, and [p. 10 line 5-20] “The locking member 32 comprises a pole 44 which extends longitudinally within the gripping portion 30. The pole 44 is connected to a release members 46a and 46b which are visible on the gripping portion 30. In a locked position, as shown in Figure 7a, the pole 44 extends through and is received by holes 48 in the side walls 14 and 18”.), the sliding block slides along the sliding groove and drives the upper rod and the upper rod soft goods to move (at least Figs. 3-7 and [p. 10 line 5-20] “In this position, the screen 26 is locked in the raised position. A spring action mechanism allows a user to depress release members 46a and 46b to cause the pole 44 to move inwardly out of the holes 48 to release the screen 26 from the raised position”.).
Re Claim 9, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 8 (detailed with respect to claim 8).
Ritson further teaches:
wherein the sliding block is provided with a locking member (at least Figs. 3-7 element 44 and [p. 10 line 5-20] “pole 44”.), a driving member (at least Fig. 7bwith Examiner’s labeling), and an operating member (at least Figs. 3-7 element 46 and [p. 10 line 5-20] “release members 46a and 46b”.), the locking member is engaged in a positioning groove (at least Fig. 7a element 48 and [p. 10 line 5-20] “the pole 44 extends through and is received by holes 48 in the side walls 14 and 18”.) on the crib frame and is fixedly connected to the driving member, the operating member is operated to drive the driving member to move, and to drive the locking member to be separated from the positioning groove (at least Figs. 3-7 and [p. 10 line 5-20] “A spring action mechanism allows a user to depress release members 46a and 46b to cause the pole 44 to move inwardly out of the holes 48 to release the screen 26 from the raised position.”.).
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Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ritson in view of Scheeler and further in view of US 5432962 to Huang.
Re Claim 10, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 9 (detailed with respect to claim 9).
The combination of Ritson and Scheeler does not explicitly teach:
wherein the operating member is provided with an inclined surface, after the operating member is operated, the inclined surface pushes the driving member and drives the driving member to move, so as to separate the locking member from the positioning groove.
However, Huang teaches:
wherein the operating member is provided with an inclined surface (at least Figs. 4-5 element 410 and [Col. 2 lines 53-63] “the block 41 has a bevel surface 410 with a downward slope in a direction from the first end of the horizontal part 201 to the second end thereof”.), after the operating member is operated, the inclined surface pushes the driving member and drives the driving member to move, so as to separate the locking member from the positioning groove (at least Figs. 4-5 and [Col. 3 lines 10-25] “the connecting element 10 is moved towards to the vertical part 202 to push the spring 141 by an action of the bevel surface 410 of the block 41 exerting a force in a horizontal direction to an edge of the inner surface of the tunnel 11 near the second end of the connecting element 10, thus, the connecting hook 13 is disengaged from the opening 502”.).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the baby crib taught by the combination of Ritson and Scheeler with the inclined surface on the operating member taught by Huang with a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results to arrive at a baby crib with operating member with an inclined surface. A person having ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so because “the railing side 603 and the adjusting element 20 can be moved and the connecting hook 13 can be inserted into another opening 502 of the strip 501 so as to achieve an object of adjustment of the railing side 603 by a single action” (Huang [Col. 3 lines 10-25]).
Re Claim 11, the combination of Ritson, Scheeler, and Huang teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 10 (detailed with respect to claim 10).
Huang further teaches:
wherein the sliding block further comprises a resetting member (at least Figs. 4-5 element 141 and [Col. 2 lines 64-68 to Col. 3 lines 1-8] “spring 141”.), one end of the resetting member is fixed to the driving member (at least Figs. 4-5 element 141 and [Col. 2 lines 64-68 to Col. 3 lines 1-8] “a recess 14 is defined in the second end thereof for receiving one end of a spring 141”.), and the other end of the resetting member is fixed to the sliding block (at least Figs. 4-5 element 141 and [Col. 2 lines 64-68 to Col. 3 lines 1-8] “a spring 141 whose the other end is engaged to the stud 33 of the horizontal part 201”.), the resetting member is capable of driving the driving member to be reset and driving the locking member to be engaged in the positioning groove (at least Figs. 4-5 and [Col. 3 lines 10-25] “the connecting element 10 is moved towards to the vertical part 202 to push the spring 141 by an action of the bevel surface 410 of the block 41 exerting a force in a horizontal direction to an edge of the inner surface of the tunnel 11 near the second end of the connecting element 10, thus, the connecting hook 13 is disengaged from the opening 502”.).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ritson in view of Scheeler and further in view of US 20110258776 A1 to Schwartz.
Re Claim 12, the combination of Ritson and Scheeler teaches:
The baby crib according to claim 1 (detailed with respect to claim 1).
Ritson further teaches:
further comprising a support member supporting the crib body (at least Figs. 1-2 element 6 and [p. 8 lines 23-35] “supporting section 6”.), wherein the support member comprises a cross beam (at least Figs. 1-2 element 24, bottom horizontal portion) and a vertical beam (at least Figs. 1-2 element 22 and [p. 8 lines 23-35] “legs 22 and 23”.), one end of the vertical beam is connected to the crib frame (at least Figs. 1-2, the legs 22 and 23 are touching the top crib frame), and the other end of the vertical beam is connected to the cross beam (at least Figs. 1-2 element 24, bottom horizontal portion).
The combination of Ritson and Scheeler does not explicitly teach:
the cross beam is provided with a caster.
However, Schwartz teaches:
the cross beam is provided with a caster (at least Figs. 1-3 element 111 and [0038] “One or more castors 111”.).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the baby crib taught by the combination of Ritson and Scheeler with the casters taught by Schwartz with a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results to arrive at a baby crib with casters. A person having ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so because “so the crib 100 may be portable” (Schwartz [0038]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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: Examiner notes that GB 2472853 A to Ritson, US 5432962 to Huang, and US 20070272375 A1 to Hansen are particularly relevant.
The prior art does not teach Applicant’s claimed “wherein the tightening mechanism is provided at a bottom of the crib frame, the soft goods provided on the upper rod extend to the bottom of the crib frame and are connected to the other end of the tightening mechanism” as seen in Applicant’s Fig. 10. This is because the tightening mechanism of Ritson relies on extension springs 80 and spring loaded roller member 84, as seen in Figs. 13a-e, but Ritson does not explicitly teach the claimed furling disk and gear disks. Although Huang teaches a tightening mechanism in Figs. 4-5, Huang also only teaches a spring and does not explicitly teach the claimed furling disk and gear disks. Although Hansen teaches a furling disk, shaft, and coil spring, and gear disks (Fig. 3), Hansen is directed towards a roller blind, not a crib, and thus does not teach the claimed limitation. Since Ritson already uses linear springs, there would be no motivation to combine the tightening mechanism of Hansen with Ritson. There is no teaching or suggestion in the prior art to result in Applicant’s claimed structure. The dependent claims contain allowable subject matter for similar reasons due to their dependency.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE SUN whose telephone number is (571)270-7221. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00am-4:00pm.
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/GEORGE SUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673