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 .
This non-final Office action is in response to Applicant’s patent application number 18/975,728 filed on 12/10/2024.
Currently, claims 1-8 are pending and examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/22/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-8 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.
Re claim 1, line 7; a citation “a first anchoring clip” is confusing and indefinite because it’s unclear whether there is “a second anchoring clip” in the claim? Clarification is required Claims 2-8 depending upon the rejected claim 1 are also rejected.
Re claim 2, line 3; a citation “an anchoring system” is confusing and indefinite because it’s unclear whether the same as “an anchoring system” cited in claim 1, line 4? Clarification is required. Claims 3-5 depending upon the rejected claim 2 are also rejected.
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.
As best understood, claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US No. 2020/0347665 to Gordon.
Re claim 1: Gordon discloses a method of installing a fenestration unit having an interior side and an exterior side within a rough opening of a structure defined by rough opening framing, the method comprising: transitioning an anchoring system 10 from a first, stowed configuration (Fig. 1) to a second, installation configuration (Fig. 2), the anchoring system 10 including a plurality of anchoring clips 16 coupled to a perimeter of the fenestration unit 70, the plurality of anchoring clips 16 including a first anchoring clip 22, wherein the anchoring system 10 gauges the fenestration unit to an interior side of the rough opening framing 72; placing the fenestration unit 70 within the rough opening framing 72 from an interior side of the rough opening framing 72; and securing the anchoring system 10 to the rough opening framing 72 using one or more fasteners 100.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: no prior art discloses a method of installing and combination structures of a fenestration unit, including the first anchoring clip includes a coupling bracket and a carrier bracket configured to receive a portion of the coupling bracket, and wherein transitioning an anchoring system from a first, stowed configuration to a second, installation configuration further includes, removing the coupling bracket from the carrier bracket, rotating the coupling bracket, and re-inserting the coupling bracket into the carrier bracket as set forth in the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (see attached PTO-892).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to CHI Q. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6847. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7AM-5PM or email: chi.nguyen@uspto.gov. If attempt to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Brian Mattei can be reached at (571) 270-3238. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pairdirect.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at (866) 217-9197.
/CHI Q NGUYEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
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