DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 have been considered for patentability.
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, 2 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richter (US Patent 5,788,202) in view of CN 115157300 (CN 300).
In re Claim 1, Richter discloses a suspension rack, comprising: a supporting member 1 (Figure 1); a bracket 2 slidably disposed on the supporting member 1; and a linkage mechanism comprising a rotating member 8 and a pin 11 (Figure 1), wherein the rotating member 8 is rotatably disposed on the supporting member 1, and the pin 11 is pivotally connected to the rotating member 8, wherein the bracket 2 is driven to slide relative to the supporting member through the pin 11 by the rotating member 8.
Richter does not explicitly disclose wherein a linking bar connects the bracket to the rotating member. However, providing such was not new in the art of mechanical actuation mechanisms at a time before the effective filing date. For example, CN 300 discloses a linking bar 2 that is pivotally connected to a rotating member 1 on one end and pivotally connected to a bracket 3 at the other end (See Figure 3). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of mechanical actuation mechanisms at a time before the effective filing date to have provided a linking bar connection as disclosed in CN 300 in place of the pin/slot connection as otherwise disclosed in Richter to reduce the wear and stress concentration that exist in a pin/slot direct connection. Furthermore, a linking bar connection was a well-known alternative to a direct pin/slot coupling and a person having ordinary skill would have recognized their functional equivalence.
In re Claim 2, Richter discloses an elastic member 27 connected between the bracket 2 and the supporting member 1, wherein the bracket is used to resist an elastic force of the elastic member, and the bracket is driven to slide relative to the supporting member by the elastic force of the elastic member. See Figure 1.
In re Claim 7, Richter as modified by CN 300 discloses wherein the bracket comprises two brackets 2, 3 (Richter, Figure 1), CN 300 discloses the linking bar comprises two linking bars 2 (CN 300 Figure 3), the two brackets are disposed at two opposite ends of the supporting member by the two linking bars, and the two brackets are driven to move away from or be close to each other relative to the supporting member through the two linking bars.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
Claims 3 and 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 specific limitations of “a push-push mechanism connected to the rotating member, and the rotating member is driven rotate by the push-push mechanism” in Claim 3 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art of record in the examiner’s opinion.
The specific limitations of "a tray and an adjusting mechanism, wherein the tray is connected to the supporting member through the adjusting mechanism, and the tray is driven to be close to or move away from the supporting member by the adjusting mechanism” in Claim 8 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art of record in the examiner's opinion.
The specific limitations of " a suspension rack, comprising: a supporting member; a bracket slidably disposed on the supporting member and provided with a carrying portion, wherein an accommodating space is formed between the carrying portion and the supporting member, and the object is carried by the carrying portion in the accommodating space” in Claim 15 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art of record in the examiner's opinion.
The specific limitations of "a bracket slidably disposed on the supporting member and provided with a carrying portion; a tray used to be carried by the carrying portion of the bracket; an adjusting mechanism connected between the supporting member and the tray and driving the tray to be lifted and lowered” in Claim 18 are not anticipated or made obvious by the prior art of record in the examiner's opinion.
For example, Richter (US Patent 5,788,202) discloses a suspension rack, comprising: a supporting member 1 (Figure 1); a bracket 2 slidably disposed on the supporting member 1; and a linkage mechanism comprising a rotating member 8 and a pin 11 (Figure 1), wherein the rotating member 8 is rotatably disposed on the supporting member 1, and the pin 11 is pivotally connected to the rotating member 8, wherein the bracket 2 is driven to slide relative to the supporting member through the pin 11 by the rotating member 8. As noted above Richter does not explicitly disclose wherein a linking bar connects the bracket to the rotating member.
CN 115157300 (CN 300) discloses a linking bar 2 that is pivotally connected to a rotating member 1 on one end and pivotally connected to a bracket 3 at the other end (See Figure 3).
However, Richter and/or CN 300 fail to disclose the limitations of Claims 3 and/or 8 as recited above.
Furthermore, Richter discloses the limitations of Claim 1 above, and similarly discloses those same limitations as recited in Claim 15, but the additional limitations “a suspension rack, comprising: a supporting member; a bracket slidably disposed on the supporting member and provided with a carrying portion, wherein an accommodating space is formed between the carrying portion and the supporting member, and the object is carried by the carrying portion in the accommodating space“ in Claim 15 are not disclosed in Richter, CN 300 or the other prior art of record.
Similarly, Richter discloses the limitations of Claim 1 above, and similarly discloses those same limitations as recited in Claim 18, but the additional limitations “a bracket slidably disposed on the supporting member and provided with a carrying portion; a tray used to be carried by the carrying portion of the bracket; an adjusting mechanism connected between the supporting member and the tray and driving the tray to be lifted and lowered” in Claim 18 are not disclosed in Richter, CN 300 or the other prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Adrian S Wilson whose telephone number is (571)270-3907. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.
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/ADRIAN S WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841