This is Non-Final office action for serial number 18/858,010.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the bearing pad must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
(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) 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Koh 10,376,030. The applicant is reminded that the mounting devices, primary device, and auxiliary device are not positively claimed therefore the prior art only need to be capable of performing the functions related to the mounting devices, primary device, and auxiliary device.
Koh discloses:
(Claim 9) A platform for mounting devices comprising: a frame (40) made of one or more arms (41/42) comprising a plurality of through holes (49) present near edges of the one or more arms; a plurality of support members (50) configured to support the frame near the edges of the one or more arms, each support member including a hollow shaft (47) having internal threads (inner threads) passing through at least one of the plurality of through holes; a plurality of spacers (48), each spacer being disposed on at least one through hole of the plurality of through holes (49) and comprising a bottom surface having a profile corresponding to a curvature of the frame (frame includes through holes member (49) which are curved and the spacer 48 corresponds to 49); and a plurality of threaded plugs (screws, column 4, lines 65-66, see figure below), each threaded plug passing through at least one spacer (48) of the plurality of spacers (48) and the at least one through hole, the threaded plug being secured with the internal threads of the hollow shaft positioned above the support member, to enable coupling of the support member to the frame, wherein the bottom surface of the at least one spacer (48, round therefore arcuate) has an arcuate profile corresponding to a rounded curvature of the frame (see figure), wherein the support member is a bearing pad (50, see 20180304113 which teaches of a pad 26 with wheels 25 being conventional since application does not define or show what is a bearing pad therefore wheels in the broadest sense meet the limitation of a bearing pad) for providing stability to the platform mounting the devices, wherein the devices mounted on the platform include a primary device (10, tote) and at least one auxiliary device (17 top panel including a zipper 18 since it is stated the top 17 could be omitted such that the bag has an open top therefore being an auxiliary device or 20, handles) to be used in conjunction with the primary device.
(Claim 10) The platform according to claim 9, further comprising one or more base plates (16) connected with opposite arms (41/42) of the frame, for mounting the devices.
(Claim 11) The platform according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of support members are rolling members (50) for supporting movement of the platform mounting the devices.
(Claim 12): The platform according to claim 9, wherein the frame is invertible, and the plurality of support members (50), the plurality of spacers (48), and the plurality of threaded plugs (48) are connectable from a top side or a bottom side of the frame (the support members 50 can be used on the top side or bottom side therefore it is invertible).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koh 10,376, 030 in view of Webster 20080099639.
Koh discloses all of the limitations of the claimed invention except for (Claim 13): The platform according to claim 9, wherein a top surface of the threaded plug is flush with a top surface of the at least one spacer. Webster teaches that it is known to have a threaded plug (16) is flush (via a countersunk area 22) with a top surface (see figure 1) of the at least one spacer (14). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectation of success to have modified Koh to have wherein a top surface of the threaded plug is flush with a top surface of the at least one spacer as taught by Webster for the purpose of providing a means to prevent the fastener from damaging the support object or device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art discloses conventional platforms with wheels.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY T WOOD whose telephone number is (571)272-6826. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thur 9:00am-5:30pm flexible schedule.
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, Jonathan Liu can be reached at (571) 272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIMBERLY T WOOD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631