Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species III shown in Figs. 7-8 in the reply filed on June 24, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 24, 2026.
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 knob (claim 17) 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 Objections
Claim 17 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 16. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. Claim 15 recites the limitation, “the object has a mass selected to provide
sufficient momentum when the rod is moved from the extended position to the retracted
position due to release of the compression spring to unlock the plurality of friction locks.” However, the specification fails to disclose any particular mass or means for determining such in order to provide sufficient momentum. As such, it would not be possible for one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the claimed invention without undue experimentation. In making this determination the examiner affirms that he has considered the breadth of the claims;
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the nature of the invention;
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the state of the prior art;
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the level of one of ordinary skill;
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the level of predictability in the art;
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the amount of direction provided by the inventor; any
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existence of working examples; and the quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure.
Claims 16-17 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. No difference between the “handle” of claim 16 and the “knob” of claim 17 is described in the specification, shown in the drawings, or recited in the claims. As such it unclear how these claims differ.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bush, US 6,640,395. Bush discloses a telescoping shaft having a collapsed configuration (Fig. 2) and an extended configuration (Fig. 1), comprising:
a plurality of members (10, 22A, 22B, 22C) forming the telescoping shaft, wherein each of the plurality of members are lockable into the extended configuration by a plurality of friction locks (see Fig. 1);
a rod (12) configured to be received within an endmost member (10) of the plurality of members, wherein the rod includes an object (20a) attached to a distal end of the rod; and
a compression spring (16) between the distal end and a proximal end of the rod (see Fig. 3),
wherein, when the rod is moved (see “pulled outwardly” at col. 4, line 16) from a retracted position to an extended position, the compression spring engages (col. 3, lines 58-59) with a portion (18) of the endmost member such that upon release (col. 4, line 33), the rod moves into the endmost member to the retracted position (col. 4, lines 35-36) causing the object to strike the endmost member with sufficient force to release the plurality of friction locks (col. 4, lines 49-50),
wherein the portion of the endmost member is at a distal end (10b) of the endmost member and includes a ledge (18) configured to engage with the compression spring,
wherein the object (20b) is a handle or a knob (see “20b . . . is grasped” at col. 4, line 43-44).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Greg Binda whose telephone number is (571)272-7077. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-5:30 et.
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, Matthew Troutman can be reached at 571-270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Greg Binda/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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