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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Page 9, paragraph 42, “rooftop panel 120 may include side panels through which cargo may be passed” should be changed to --modular camper shell 150 may include side panels through which cargo may be passed--.
Page 9, paragraph 43, “the driver-side gullwing 230 may include a plurality of compression latches for securing the passenger-side gullwing 220 to the modular camper shell 105” should be changed to --the driver-side gullwing 230 may include a plurality of compression latches for securing the driver-side gullwing 230 to the modular camper shell 105--.
Page 14, paragraph 61, “rooftop panel 120” should be changed to --rooftop tent 310--.
Page 15, paragraph 66 does not seem to be complete as it ends in “Upward-facing edges 210*******”.
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.
Claims 4 and 13 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.
Claim 4 recites “an upper portion” in line 2. It is unclear if the “upper portion” is the same as the previously recited “upper layer” (line 1). If not, it is not understood what constitutes the “upper portion”. For examination purposes, they are assumed to be the same element. Clarification is required.
Claim 13 recites “an upper portion” in line 2. It is unclear if the “upper portion” is the same as the previously recited “upper layer” (line 1). If not, it is not understood what constitutes the “upper portion”. For examination purposes, they are assumed to be the same element. Clarification is required.
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 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mulligan (US 4,542,911).
Claim 1: Mulligan discloses a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (31-34) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in the top view of FIG. 7), the at least two walls (33, 34) of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge and a second upward-facing edge extending approximately parallel to each other (FIG. 6), the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge having a plurality of apertures through which a plurality of bolts (45) may be inserted (seen in phantom in FIG. 5; col. 4, lines 48-62); and a rooftop panel (20) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using the plurality of bolts (FIGS. 1, 5 and 6), the rooftop panel having a plurality of openings (44) configured to align with the plurality of apertures, wherein the rooftop panel is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of bolts at the plurality of openings and the plurality of apertures (when the rooftop panel is removed, the walls can be folded down to the position shown in FIG. 2).
Claim 8: Mulligan discloses the modular camper shell as including a vertical mounting point (48) configured to couple to side railings (70, 71) of the vehicle to prevent vertical movement of the modular camper shell (when walls are vertical and attached to the side railings and the rooftop panel via bolt 45, as seen in FIG. 5, vertical movement of the walls is prohibited).
Claim 9: Mulligan discloses the vertical mounting point as extending down from a bottom edge of the modular camper shell in a vertical direction (as seen in FIG. 5, the vertical portion of 48 extends down slightly further than the end of the walls 31, 32 since there is a gasket 36 located between the bottom of the walls and the horizontal portion of 48).
Claim 10: Mulligan discloses the modular camper shell as including a horizontal mounting point (48) configured to couple to side railings (70, 71) of the vehicle to prevent horizontal movement of the modular camper shell (when walls are vertical and attached to the side railings and the rooftop panel via bolt 45, as seen in FIG. 5, horizontal movement of the walls is prohibited).
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) 1, 2, 11 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller (5,127,701) in view of Del Monico et al. (US 5,028,088).
Claim 1: Miller discloses a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (20, 22/30, 24/32, 26) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in the figures), the at least two walls (22/30, 24/32) of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge and a second upward-facing edge extending approximately parallel to each other (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 4); and a rooftop panel (70) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using a plurality of connectors (col. 3, lines 51-59), wherein the rooftop panel is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners.
Miller teaches the connectors as being either snaps or hook and loop fasteners and therefore does not explicitly teach the use of bolts. Del Monico et al. teaches a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (34, 36, 38/40, 48) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in the figures), the at least two walls (34, 36, 28/40) of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge (76) and a second upward-facing edge (76) extending approximately parallel to each other (FIG. 3), the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge having a plurality of apertures (FIG. 3) through which a plurality of bolts (80) may be inserted (FIG. 5); and a rooftop panel (18) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using the plurality of bolts (FIG. 5), the rooftop panel having a plurality of openings configured to align with the plurality of apertures (FIG. 5 shows bolts 80 passing through 74 and 76 so the hole have to be aligned), wherein the rooftop panel is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners (as evidenced by the position of 18 relative to 30 in FIG. 2 versus FIG. 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Miller to include a plurality of bolts that pass through aligned apertures in the rooftop panel and the camper shell, as taught by Del Monico et al., as an equivalent alternative method that would more strongly secure the rooftop panel to the camper shell when the vehicle was moving.
Claim 2: Miller discloses a rooftop tent (64) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using the plurality of fasteners (col. 3, lines 38-50), wherein the rooftop tent is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners. If Miller was modified to include apertures and bolts, as discussed above, it would be obvious to use that same connection for the rooftop tent since it was already in place for the rooftop panel (Miller also teaches the same connection means, snaps or VELCRO, for both the rooftop panel and the rooftop tent).
Claim 11: Miller discloses a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (20, 22/30, 24/32, 26) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in the figures), the at least two walls (22/30, 24/32) of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge and a second upward-facing edge extending approximately parallel to each other (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 4); and a rooftop tent (64) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using the plurality of fasteners (col. 3, lines 38-50), wherein the rooftop tent is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners.
Miller teaches the connectors as being either snaps or hook and loop fasteners and therefore does not explicitly teach the use of bolts. Del Monico et al. teaches a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (34, 36, 38/40, 48) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in the figures), the at least two walls (34, 36, 28/40) of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge (76) and a second upward-facing edge (76) extending approximately parallel to each other (FIG. 3), the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge having a plurality of apertures (FIG. 3) through which a plurality of bolts (80) may be inserted (FIG. 5); and a rooftop panel (18) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using the plurality of bolts (FIG. 5), the rooftop panel having a plurality of openings configured to align with the plurality of apertures (FIG. 5 shows bolts 80 passing through 74 and 76 so the hole have to be aligned), wherein the rooftop panel is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners (as evidenced by the position of 18 relative to 30 in FIG. 2 versus FIG. 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Miller to include a plurality of bolts that pass through aligned apertures in the rooftop tent and the camper shell, as taught by Del Monico et al., as an equivalent alternative method that would more strongly secure the rooftop tent to the camper shell when the vehicle was moving.
Claim 15: Miller discloses a rooftop panel (70) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge using a plurality of connectors (col. 3, lines 51-59), wherein the rooftop panel is configured to be removed from the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge in response to removing the plurality of fasteners. If Miller was modified to include apertures and bolts, as discussed above, it would be obvious to use that same connection for the rooftop panel since it was already in place for the rooftop tent (Miller also teaches the same connection means, snaps or VELCRO, for both the rooftop panel and the rooftop tent).
Claim(s) 1, 6-10, 11-14 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Davis et al. (US 2022/0162879 A1) alone.
Claim 1: Davis et al. discloses a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (270, 272, 274, 276) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in FIGS. 1C and 1D), the at least two walls of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge and a second upward-facing edge (top edge of portions 160 and 162 of the frame to which the walls are connected; FIG. 5B) extending approximately parallel to each other (FIG. 5B); and a rooftop panel (120, which is in a panel form when it is collapsed as seen in FIG. 1A) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge (paragraph 34).
While Davis et al. teaches the rooftop panel 120 (specially portion 124) to be coupled to the frame 102 (paragraph 34), Davis et al. does not explicitly state what kind of connection mechanism is used to couple the two elements. However, Davis et al. does teach other portions of the frame 102 to be coupled together using bolts (paragraph 38) and teaches the frame for portions 122 and 124 of the rooftop panel 120 to also be coupled together with bolts (paragraph 42). As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Davis et al. to include a plurality of aligned apertures through which a bolt would pass in order to couple the rooftop panel to the camper shell since the method for connecting all elements to each other would be the same on the entire device and could be performed with the same tool.
Claim 11: Davis et al. discloses a system comprising: a modular camper shell configured to selectively couple to a vehicle, the modular camper shell having four walls (270, 272, 274, 276) in which each wall of the four walls is configured to connect at least two walls of the four walls (as seen in FIGS. 1C and 1D), the at least two walls of the four walls having a first upward-facing edge and a second upward-facing edge (top edge of portions 160 and 162 of the frame to which the walls are connected; FIG. 5B) extending approximately parallel to each other (FIG. 5B); and a rooftop tent (120) configured to couple to the at least the first upward-facing edge and the second upward-facing edge (paragraph 34).
While Davis et al. teaches the rooftop tent 120 (specifically portion 124) to be coupled to the frame 102 (paragraph 34), Davis et al. does not explicitly state what kind of connection mechanism is used to couple the two elements. However, Davis et al. does teach other portions of the frame 102 to be coupled together using bolts (paragraph 38) and teaches the frame for portions 122 and 124 of the rooftop panel 120 to also be coupled together with bolts (paragraph 42). As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Davis et al. to include a plurality of aligned apertures through which a bolt would pass in order to couple the rooftop tent to the camper shell since the method for connecting all elements to each other would be the same on the entire device and could be performed with the same tool.
Claim 12: Davis et al. teaches the rooftop tent as having a first layer (122) and a second layer (124) that are coupled by a hinge (130) at ends of the first layer and the second layer (FIGS. 1A-3A), the first layer configured to rotate away from the second layer using the hinge to an open position (FIG. 2A), and wherein the first layer is configured to rotate towards the second layer using the hinge to a closed position (FIG. 1A).
Claim 13: Davis et al. teaches the first layer as being an upper layer and the second layer as being a lower layer (as seen in the figures) and the upper layer may be angled relative to the lower layer in response to the rooftop tent being in the open position (as seen in FIG. 1A).
Claim 14: Davis et al. teaches at least one of the first layer or the second layer as having a gas strut (230, 232) for supporting the first layer over the second layer while in the open position. It would have been obvious to include a slot a slot configured to receive these gas struts in either the first or second layers so that way when the tent was in the closed position, the gas strut would be kept in a slot, thus keeping it away from user’s fingers and also making sure there is enough space for the gas strut to be fully compressed and not create a gap between the upper and lower layers when in the closed position.
Claims 6 and 16: Davis et al. teaches side panels (260, 272) configured to open and close using a hinge (as seen in the FIGS. 3A and 3E-4A, 272 and 274 are all hinged at the top and can be opened), and wherein the modular camper shell includes a back panel (274) configured to be locked (paragraph 46).
Claims 7 and 17: Davis et al. teaches the side panels as being configured to be supported by a gas strut in response to being in an open position (paragraph 45).
Claims 8 and 18: Davis et al. teaches the modular camper shell as including a vertical mounting point (190) configured to couple to side railings of the vehicle (paragraph 41) to prevent vertical movement of the modular camper shell (when walls/frame are clamped to the side railings vertical movement of the walls is prohibited).
Claims 9 and 19: Davis et al. discloses the vertical mounting point as extending down from a bottom edge of the modular camper shell in a vertical direction (as seen in the figured, a small portion of clamps 190 extend down beyond the bottom edge of elements 150 and 152 of lower frame 108).
Claims 10 and 20: Davis et al. discloses the modular camper shell as including a horizontal mounting point (190) configured to couple to side railings of the vehicle (paragraph 4) to prevent horizontal movement of the modular camper shell (when walls/frame are clamped to the side railings horizontal movement of the walls is prohibited).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 5 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.
Claim 4 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIELLE JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2268. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 11AM-7PM 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, David Dunn can be reached at (571)272-6670. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DNJ/Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636
