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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Figs 6-18 in the reply filed on 3/18/26 is acknowledged. The examiner also acknowledges applicant’s replacement drawings labeling figures 1-5 as prior art which is now consistent with the specification.
Therefore, the species groups are modified as Group 1 (figs. 6-18) and Group 2 (figs 19-20). Applicant’s election of modified Group 1 (figs. 6-18) drawn to claims 1-19 are examined below.
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) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 10,501,189 to Malligere et al.
Regarding claim 1, Malligere ‘189 discloses a prefabricated mounting assembly comprising: a mounting bracket 200 comprising: a top surface 6 comprising a first fastening hole (@ 28); a pair of side parts 10 (see left and right portions of 10 – fig. 4) extending downward from opposite ends of the top surface; and a plurality of ribs disposed between the side parts; and a reinforcement component 202 disposed between the top surface 6 of the mounting bracket 200 and a rib of the plurality of ribs and comprising a first fastener 220 engaged in a second fastening hole 206 disposed in a main body of the reinforcement component 202.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 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 10-19 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: (claims 2 and 10) note the configuration and placement of the uppermost protruded ribs relative to the mounting bracket side parts and ribs, where the protruded ribs support the reinforcement component relative to the mounting bracket.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and will be used in subsequent office action rejections, as applicable.
The list of supports is as follows: US-20250003435-A1 OR US-20240336164-A1 OR US-20240239244-A1 OR US-20160176321-A1 OR US-11897304-B1 OR US-11260774-B2 OR US-10173560-B2 OR US-7040639-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA E MILLNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7507. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-4:00pm.
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, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at 571-272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MONICA E MILLNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632
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