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 .
Amendment
The Response, filed on May 26, 2026, has been received and made of record. In response to the Non-Final Office Action dated April 24, 2026, claims 1, 2, 5, have been amended, no claims have been cancelled, and claims 12 and 13 have been newly added.
Response to Amendment
Regarding the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claims 1-4, 6, 8, 10 and 11, Applicant submits that “claim 1 has been amended to incorporate a portion of claim 5 that recites allowable subject matter according to the Office.” (Remarks, p. 8). The Examiner notes that only a portion of claim 5 was amended into claim 1, and the amendment did not include the subject matter of intervening claims 2-4. In light of the amendments to the claim, Applicant's arguments have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chinese Patent Application No. 109798422 to Zhou.
Regarding claim 1, Zhou teaches a self-adjusting shock-absorption device, comprising a movable frame (e.g., fig. 3, at least portions of elements 14 and 18; the Examiner notes that the “movable frame” is not required or recited to be a singularly formed, monolithic structure) configured to rotate along at least one pivot (e.g., fig. 3, via pivot of element 171), the movable frame comprises a four-link assembly that comprises a first arm (e.g., fig. 3, portion of element 18 contacting left portion of element 10), a second arm (e.g., fig. 3, portion of element 18 contacting right portion of element 10), a third arm (e.g., fig. 3, portion of element 14 contacting left portion of element 10), and a fourth arm (e.g., fig. 3, portion of element 14 contacting left portion of element 10), and a shock-absorption mechanism, comprising an adjusting component (e.g., fig. 3, unlabeled element attaching element 16 to elements 18 and 171) and an elastic component (e.g., fig. 3, element 16), the adjusting component comprises a first adjusting member (e.g., fig. 3, unlabeled element attaching element 16 to element 171; the Examiner notes that the claim does not require any additional elements or members of the adjusting component), wherein the elastic component is provided within the four-link assembly (e.g., fig. 3), with a first end of the elastic component connected to the first adjusting member (e.g., fig. 3, unlabeled element attaching element 16 to elements 18 and 171), wherein a first end of the first adjusting member (e.g., fig. 3, such as the left side of the unlabeled element attaching element 16 to elements 18 and 171) is movably connected to the movable frame four-link assembly (e.g., fig. 3), and wherein the first adjusting member is configured to change a length of the elastic component in response to a rotation of the four-link assembly (e.g., fig. 3, through static hold/control by first adjusting member and resulting stretch of elastic component in response to vertical rotation).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-11 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.
Claims 12 and 13 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claims 12 and 13, the prior art has not been found by the Examiner to teach or fairly suggest the claimed combination of a self-adjusting shock-absorption device, comprising a movable frame configured to rotate along at least one pivot, the movable frame comprises a four-link assembly that comprises a first arm, a second arm, a third arm, and a fourth arm, and a shock-absorption mechanism, comprising an adjusting component and an elastic component, the adjusting component comprises a second adjusting member, wherein a first end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to the elastic component, a second end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to is movably connected to the third arm, and a third end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to is movably connected to the third arm, and wherein the second adjusting member is configured to change a length of the elastic component in response to a rotation of the four-link assembly.
The closest references explicitly fail to teach wherein an adjusting component comprises a second adjusting member, wherein a first end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to an elastic component, a second end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to is movably connected to a third arm, and a third end of the second adjusting member is movably connected to is movably connected to the third arm, and wherein the second adjusting member is configured to change a length of the elastic component in response to a rotation of a four-link assembly.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY C VIEAUX whose telephone number is (571)272-7318. The examiner can normally be reached Increased Flex.
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, Lin Ye can be reached at 571-272-7372. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/GARY C VIEAUX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638
Prosecution Insights