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 based on an application filed in China on 06/28/2024. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 202421508196 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
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 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by RENSO LUBBERS (US 2797818 A).
Regarding claim 1 Lubbers discloses a support base (title; Fig. 2), comprising a stand assembly (10) and clamping assemblies (20, 34), wherein the stand assembly (10) comprises a base (18) and at least three fixing rods (24) uniformly fixed to the base (Col. 2, lines 15-19); the clamping assemblies (20, 34) are located on an inner side of the stand assembly (shown in Fig. 2) and hinged (26, 28) to the fixing rods; each said clamping assembly (20, 34) comprises a clamping block (34); (Col. 2, lines 20-27) rotatably connected to the corresponding fixing rod (24) and an elastic element (30) located between the clamping block (34) and the stand assembly (10) and fixedly connected to the clamping block and the stand assembly (10).
Regarding claim 2 Lubbers, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Lubbers further discloses wherein the elastic element is a spring or a torsion spring (Col. 2, lines 22-26).
Regarding claim 10 Lubbers, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Lubbers further discloses wherein the stand assembly further comprises a fixing ring (Fig. 2; 12) is fixedly connected to the fixing rods.
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) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RENSO LUBBERS (US 2797818 A) in view of MATTHEWS CARLTON T (US 2410227 A).
Regarding claim 3 Lubbers, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Lubbers does not disclose wherein a fixing piece is arranged in a middle of the base. Matthews teaches wherein a fixing piece (Fig. 7; 18) is arranged in a middle of the base (Fig. 9); (Col. 3, lines 1-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill within the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the base of Lubbers to include a fixing piece arranged in a middle of the base, as Matthews, in order to prevent the trunk from shifting about (Col. 3, lines 1-3).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RENSO LUBBERS (US 2797818 A) in view of Singleton (US 0923206 A).
Regarding claim 4 Lubbers, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Lubbers does not disclose support assemblies connected to the stand assembly. Singleton teaches support assemblies (Fig. 1; AA).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill within the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the stand assembly to have support assemblies connected thereto, as taught by Singleton, in order to provide further support to the device.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RENSO LUBBERS (US 2797818 A) in view of Papadatos; Evangelos A. (US 6102357 A).
Regarding claim 9 Lubbers, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Lubbers does not disclose wherein clamping grooves are formed in the clamping blocks and fit the fixing rods in size. Papadatos teaches clamping grooves (Fig. 6; 162); (Col. 4, lines 15-28) formed in clamping blocks (18) and fit fixing rods (82) in size.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention as an obvious substitution of functional equivalent to substitute the hinged portion connecting the clamping blocks to the fixing rods of Lubbers, with a clamping grooves adapted to fit fixing rods, as taught by Papadatos, in order to form a tight fitting hinged connection which limits lateral movement. Thus, preventing damage and strengthening the joint, and since a simple substitution of one known element for another would obtain predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 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 prior art alone or in combination fails to disclose or render obvious the particular support assembly; wherein each said support assembly comprises a first support rod, an end, close to the stand assembly, of the first support rod is provided with a clamping portion, and at least one fixing hole is formed in the clamping portion; the support assemblies are rotatably connected to the fixing rods by means of hinge pins penetrating through the fixing holes, and first elastic hinge pins matched with the fixing holes are arranged on the fixing rods, in combination with the other limitations of the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited art is considered pertinent because it relates to holders similar to the disclosed invention.
US 0892181 A
US 2410227 A
US 1898669 A
US 3136514 A
US 2469192 A
US 2891747 A
US 20080296465 A1
US 20020005466 A1
US 5507117 A
US 5535977 A
US 12268316 B2
US 5464186 A
US 7341234 B2
US 6988702 B2
US 9615686 B2
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRITTANY LOWERY whose telephone number is (571)270-3228. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7 am-4 pm MST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Collins can be reached at 571-272-6886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRITTANY A LOWERY/Examiner, Art Unit 3644
/TIMOTHY D COLLINS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3644