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 .
This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by USP 10098459 to Chen et al (hereinafter Chen).
Chen discloses (Claim 11). A slide rail mechanism 10, comprising: a first rail 14 comprising a blocking feature 24; a movable rail 16 movable relative to the first rail 14; a locking member 28 movable relative to the movable rail 16; and a predetermined component 34; wherein when the locking member 28 is in a locking state, the locking member is configured to be blocked by the blocking feature 24, in order to prevent the movable rail 16 from being moved away from a retracted position (Fig. 2) along a predetermined direction; wherein when the locking member 28 is in an unlocking state (Figs. 3-4), the locking member 28 is not blocked by the blocking feature 24 in order to allow the movable rail 16 to be moved away from the retracted position along the predetermined direction, and the locking member 28 is configured to be engaged with the predetermined component 34 in order to hold the locking member in the unlocking state.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2025/0176714 to Chen et al (hereinafter Chen ‘714).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Chen ‘714 discloses (Claim 11). A slide rail mechanism, comprising: a first rail 22 comprising a blocking feature 34; a movable rail 24 movable relative to the first rail 22; a locking member 26,70,80,90 movable relative to the movable rail 24; and a predetermined component 56; wherein when the locking member is in a locking state (such as shown in Fig. 8), the locking member is configured to be blocked by the blocking feature 34, in order to prevent the movable rail 24 from being moved away from a retracted position along a predetermined direction; wherein when the locking member is in an unlocking state (such as shown in Figs. 9-10), the locking member is not blocked by the blocking feature 34 in order to allow the movable rail 24 to be moved away from the retracted position along the predetermined direction, and the locking member is configured to be engaged with the predetermined component 56 in order to hold the locking member in the unlocking state; (Claim 12). The slide rail mechanism of claim 11, wherein during a process of the movable rail 24 being moved away from the retracted position along the predetermined direction, the locking member and the predetermined component are configured to be disengaged from each other, and the locking member is configured to be moved to switch from the unlocking state to the locking state (such as shown in Fig. 12) in response to an elastic force ([0045]: “the user can apply the force F to the auxiliary member 56 (for example, the user can press the auxiliary member 56) to move the auxiliary member 56 from the second auxiliary position C2 (as shown in FIG. 11) back to the first auxiliary position C1 (as shown in FIG. 12), such that the auxiliary member 56 is no longer engaged with the handle 26.”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are allowed.
Claims 13-20 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and all show structures similar to various elements of applicant’s disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANH VAN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6868. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DANIEL TROY can be reached at (571)270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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HVT
May 12, 2026
/HANH V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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