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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because reference numerals “96A” and “88B” ([0039] and [0040]) are not shown in the figures. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: (1) on page 13, line 6, “88” and “90” should be “86a” and “86B”, respectively. (2) on page 13, line 10, “86” should be “96”.
Appropriate correction 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.
Claims 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Marlowe et al. ‘272 (5,417,272).
Regarding claim 12, Marlowe et al. shows a hinge assembly for a gate (figs. 8-10), including an end cap (38, 85) configured to rotatably coupled a gate frame to a gate post, wherein the enc cap comprises: a flange portion (38) configured to be fixedly coupled to the gate post; a shaft portion (85) configured to be inserted into an axial member of the gate frame (26); and one or more prongs extending from the shaft portion (fig. 8, 4 prongs extending from the shaft portion and spaced by surfaces 87, 88, 89 and 90); and a rod (82) configured to extend laterally through the axial member of the gate frame. Note that the “gate post” and the “gate frame” are not considered positive limitations. Intended use is given no patentable weight.
As to claim 13, the shaft portion (85) and the axial member (26) are configured to e aligned with an axis or rotation of the gate frame (18) when the shaft portion is inserted into the axial member of the gate frame.
As to claim 14, the one or more prongs comprise a first prong and a second prong (fig. 8, any two diagonally located prongs); the first prong comprises a first face (87) configured to about the rod in a first rotational position; a first prong comprises a second face (90) configured to abut the rod in a second rotation position; a second prong comprise a third face (88) configured to abut the rod in the first rotational position; and a fourth face (89) configured to abut the rod in the second rotation position.
As to claim 15, a bushing (35) is configured to be inserted into the axial member, wherein the bushing is annularly disposed around the shaft portion (figs. 9-10).
As to claim 16, see explanation of claim 12 above.
As to claim 17, the flange portion (38) comprises one or more holes (shown in fig. 8) configured to receive one or more fasteners for mounting the flange portion on the gate post.
As to claim 18, see explanation of claim 14 above.
As to claim 19, the first face (87) and the second face (90) are substantially perpendicular to each other.
As to claim 20, the first face (87) and the third face (88) are substantially parallel to each other.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: prior art of record fails to show or fairly suggest a combination as claimed in claim 1, including a gate post; a gate frame comprising an axial member extending along an axis of rotation of the gate frame; and a hinge assembly pivotally coupling the gate frame to the gate post, wherein the hinge assembly comprises an end cap comprising: a flange portion fixedly coupled to the gate post; a shaft portion extending into the axial member of the gate frame; and one or more prongs extending from the shaft portion internally into the axial member substantially parallel to the axis of rotation; and a rod extending laterally through the axial member of the gate frame. As stated in the disclosure, the rod is fixedly coupled to the axial member of the frame, obstruction of the rod by the one or more prongs, which is fixed relative to the post, blocks rotation of the gate frame. Thus, the gate frame may rotate within but not beyond the range of the motion as constrained by the position and shaped of the one or more prongs.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Related prior art:
4,609,184 (Elkins, Sr.) shows a gate hinge assembly including a gate frame, a cam sleeve mounted on an axial member of the frame, a gate post including a cam pin extending therethrough, the cam sleeve and the cam pin forming a self-closing hinge.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUCK MAH whose telephone number is (571)272-7059. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-3:00.
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, Jason San can be reached at 571-272-6531. 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.
/CHUCK Y MAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677 February 13, 2026