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 Invention I including claims 1-16 in the reply filed on 18 February 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 contains an errant “the” before “comprising”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 9 recites the limitations "the centerline" and “the barrel’s axis” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claims 5, 8, and 10 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. The claims have not established a proper point of reference to determine whether the claimed limitations have been met, for example, the receiver should be defined in terms of length, width, depth, and various indications of the relative locations of elements, and then present the additional location limitations.
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(s) 1, 10, and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2020/0256636 by Martini (Martini).
Regarding claim 1, Martini discloses a firearm receiver, the comprising: at least one anchor point (See at least Figure 2a, clearly illustrated); wherein at least one anchor point is metal 3D printed with the receiver (See at least Paragraph 0127).
Regarding claim 10, Martini, as best interpreted in view of the section 112 rejections above, further discloses wherein the at least one anchor point is located on a distal end portion of the receiver forward of an ejection port (See at least Figures 2a and 2c, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 13, Martini further discloses wherein the receiver and the at least one anchor point are fabricated as a monolithic structure using a metal additive manufacturing process selected from the group consisting of Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), or Electron Beam Melting (EBM) (See at least Paragraph 0127, the listed methods are known metal additive manufacturing processes).
Regarding claim 14, Martini further discloses wherein the receiver is configured for use in a firearm selected from the group consisting of lever-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, and fully automatic firearms (See Figures, clearly illustrated and at least Paragraph 0100).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martini in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2011/0094136 by Zimmerman (Zimmerman).
Regarding claim 11, Martini does not disclose an integral Picatinny rail.
Zimmerman, a related prior art reference, discloses a Picatinny rail integrally formed along a top surface of the receiver (See Figures, clearly illustrated).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Martini with the noted teachings of Zimmerman. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to provide mounting locations on the receiver to allow for multiple different accessories to be attached by a user as taught by Zimmerman.
Regarding claim 12, Zimmerman further discloses wherein the Picatinny rail extends cantilevered beyond a distal end of the receiver by at least 5 millimeters (See Figures, clearly illustrated).
Claim(s) 1-9 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over World Intellectual Property Organization Document WO 2008/137187 A2 by Marfione (Marfione) in view of Martini.
Regarding claim 1, Marfione discloses a firearm receiver, comprising: at least one anchor point (See at least Figures 5 and 15-19, clearly illustrated).
Marfione does not disclose the process of manufacturing the receiver.
Martini, a related prior art reference, discloses wherein at least one anchor point is metal 3D printed with the receiver (See at least Paragraph 0127).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the noted teachings of Marfione with the noted teachings of Martini. The suggestion/ motivation for doing so would have been to utilize an appropriate manufacturing process to produce the receiver assembly as taught by Martini with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 2, Marfione further discloses wherein the at least one anchor point comprises a plurality of mounting hole bosses extending laterally from the receiver's main body (See at least Figures 5 and 15-17, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 3, Marfione further discloses wherein the mounting hole bosses include threaded holes configured to receive fastening hardware (200, 202, 204, See at least Paragraph 0083).
Regarding claim 4, Marfione as modified by Martini discloses the claimed invention except for the measure that mounting holes bosses project outward from the receiver’s profile. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the mounting hole bosses project outward from the receiver's profile by at least 3 millimeters, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claimed are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 5, Marfione, as best understood in light of the section 112 rejection above, further discloses indexing pin hole bosses located below the at least one anchor point, configured to receive indexing pins for accessory alignment (See at least Figures 15-17, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 6, Marfione further discloses wherein the indexing pin hole bosses and the mounting hole bosses terminate at a contiguous planar surface for securing accessories (See at least Figures 15-17, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 7, Marfione further discloses wherein the contiguous planar surface is post-processed to achieve a smooth finish (See at least Figures 15-17, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 8, Marfione, as best interpreted in view of the section 112 rejections above, further discloses wherein the at least one anchor point is located on a side of the receiver proximal to an ejection port (See at least Figures 4-5 and 15-17, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 9, Martini, as best interpreted in view of the section 112 rejections above, further discloses wherein the at least one anchor point is positioned above the centerline of the barrel's axis (See at least Figures 4-5, clearly illustrated).
Marfione as modified by Martini discloses the claimed invention except for the amount that the at least one anchor point is positioned above the centerline of the barrel’s axis is at least 2 millimeters. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the at least one anchor point above the centerline of the barrel’s axis by at least 2 millimeters, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claimed are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 15, Marfione further discloses wherein the at least one anchor point comprises: a left side proximal mounting hole boss set located near a proximal end of the receiver; and a left side distal mounting hole boss set located near a distal end of the receiver (See at least Figure 5, clearly illustrated).
Regarding claim 16, Marfione as modified by Martini discloses the claimed invention except for a right side mounting hole boss set mirroring the left side mounting hole boss sets on the opposite side of the receiver. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a right side mounting hole boss set mirroring the left side mounting hole boss sets on the opposite side of the receiver since it is old and well known in the art to provide provisions on firearms to allow for ambidextrous use of the firearm and includes providing mounting features on both sides of the firearm for mounting accessories to accommodate users that are left-handed and right-handed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892 Form for a listing of applicable prior art references.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN C WEBER whose telephone number is (571)270-5377. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM EST.
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/Jonathan C Weber/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3641
JONATHAN C. WEBER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3641