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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Amendment / Request for Reconsideration-After Non-Final Rejection filed on January 19, 2026 wherein: claim(s) 1, 14 were amended, and claim(s) 10 canceled. Examiner notes amendments in claim(s) are directed to overcome rejections under 35 USC § 112 / 35 USC § 102. Therefore, claim(s) 1-9, 11-15 are pending and will be examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 1-9, 11-15 is\are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation --, and the lock catch member (21) is used as a handle for holding; -- [lines 10-11] wherein --holding-- is vague and indefinite. For purposes of examination --holding-- will be interpreted as “handling” by a “user” of the --case-- [line 1].
Claim(s) 2-9, 11-15 rejected by dependency of claim 1.
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.
(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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Baruch et al. (U. S. Patent Application Publication US20200298392A1) hereinafter BARUCH.
Regarding claim 1, BARUCH teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 4, FIG. 7, FIG. 9, FIG. 12 - FIG. 15 below) a lock catch mechanism 10 for a case 44 comprising:
a lock catch member 15 being rotatably connected to a sidewall of the case body (FIG. 7);
one or more elastic members 20 disposed on the sidewall of the case body (FIG. 7);
wherein, the lock catch member 15 is capable of rotating (FIG. 13) relative to the case 44 around a horizontally extending rotating shaft (X), and is capable of moving upward (+Y) and downward (-Y) along the sidewall of the case body (FIG. 7), and
the lock catch member 15 is used as a handle (FIG. 13) for holding;
the lock catch member 15 moves upward (+Y) or downward (-Y) against an elastic restoring force of the one or more elastic members 20 when acted upon by an external force and resets to a rest position (FIG. 14) when the external force withdraws.
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Regarding claim 2, BARUCH teaches (see FIG. 1 - FIG. 4, FIG. 7, FIG. 9, FIG. 12 - FIG. 15 above) lock catch mechanism 10, wherein the lock catch member 15 has a pivot shaft 34 pivoted to the sidewall of the case body (FIG. 7), and the one or more elastic members 20 act on the pivot shaft 34 of the lock catch member 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 3-9, 11-15 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's claim amendments \ arguments regarding rejections under 35 USC § 112 (in the reply filed January 19, 2026) in view of further examination have been considered and found non persuasive.
Furthermore, rejections under 35 USC § 102 in aforementioned reply have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejections (i.e., 35 USC § 102) does not rely on exactly all reference(s) applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the Applicant’s arguments
With respect to the art rejections, in accordance with MPEP 2111.01, during examination, the claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow. In re American Academy of Science Tech Center, 367 F.3d 1359, 70 USPQ2D 1827, 1834 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Cope et al. (W. I. P. O. Patent Application Publication WO2018220073A1): Teaches a “lid closure” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Deng (China Patent Application Publication CN108516209A): Teaches a “hasp” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Ben-Gigi (U. S. Patent US9725209B1): Teaches a “stackable tool box” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Bensman et al. (U. S. Patent Application Publication US20130127129A1): Teaches a “container assembly” with similar characteristics as the claimed invention.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCOS JAVIER RODRIGUEZ MOLINA whose telephone number is (571) 272-8947. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ANTHONY D. STASHICK can be reached on (571) 272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.J.R.M./
/Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735