DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-10, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Davis (2,588,706).
Regarding claim 1, Davis discloses a vehicular table assembly, comprising: a housing 5/9/10/11/12 configured to be secured to a vehicle, the housing having an opening 13; a rollout table 26/27/28/29/30 coupled to the housing and operable between an extended position and a retracted position along a deployment axis, the rollout table having a plurality of slats 28 running perpendicular to the deployment axis; and a support mechanism having a first arm 14 with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is slidably coupled to the rollout table (see clamp 33 which is slidably clamped onto the distal end of the rollout table – see Figure 3) and the second end is pivotally coupled to the housing (at 15); wherein the rollout table is rolled up within the housing in the retracted position (see left side of Figure 2); and wherein the rollout table is at least partially extended from the opening of the housing in the extended position (Figure 3 and 5).
Regarding claim 2, the first arm has one pinned end (see 15) and one unpinned end (see distal end at slide on clamp 33).
Regarding claim 3, a reel 20 is disposed in an interior space defined by the housing, the reel being rotatably coupled to the housing (see 10/21/22/23); wherein the rollout table has a free end 29/30 and an opposing secured end coupled to the reel within the housing (see member 26 secured to roller 20); wherein a crossbar 30 is disposed along the free end of the rollout table; and wherein the first end of the first arm is coupled to the crossbar (by clamp 33).
Regarding claim 4, a second arm 14 is coupled to the housing and crossbar in the same manner as the first arm 14, wherein the second arm has one pinned end at 15 and one unpinned end at 29/30.
Regarding claim 8, the rollout table floats over the first and second arms (see Figure 2, the table floating over at the least the lower portion of each arm within the slot 16) and a lip 17/18 lining the opening of the housing (see Figure 2).
Regarding claims 9 and 15, one of the plurality of slats proximate the free end of the rollout table is wider than one of the plurality of slats proximate the secured end of the rollout table (col. 2 lines 44-52).
Regarding claim 10, Davis discloses a deployable table assembly, comprising: a housing 5/9/10/11/12 configured to be installed in a vehicle, wherein the housing has an opening 13; a rollout table 26/27/28/29/30 having a free end at 29/30 and an opposing secured end (see left side of Figure 2) rotatably coupled to the housing, wherein the rollout table is configured to articulate between an extended position and a retracted position along a deployment axis (Figure 3 and 4); a support mechanism having a first arm 14 with a first end connected to the rollout table near the free end (see sliding clamp 33) and a second end connected to the housing (see pivot 15); wherein the rollout table is substantially rolled up within the housing and not substantially protruded from the housing in the retracted position (Figure 4); wherein the rollout table is at least partially unrolled from within the housing and at least partially protruded from the housing in the extended position (Figure 2 and 3); wherein the rollout table is configured to pass through the opening of the housing when articulating into the extended position from the retracted position or into the retracted position from the extended position (Figure 2); wherein one of the first and second ends of the first arm of the support mechanism is pivotably connected to the rollout table or the housing (see pivot 15); and wherein one of the first and second ends of the first arm of the support mechanism is slidably connected to the rollout table or the housing (see sliding clamp 33).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, and 11-14 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 16-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COREY NELSON SKURDAL whose telephone number is (571)272-9588. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST.
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, Nathan Newhouse can be reached at 571-272-4544. 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.
/COREY N SKURDAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
Prosecution Insights