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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by White et al.. (US 8,656,821) White et al. discloses a weapons port, comprising: a door plate (20) constructed and arranged to control access to a weapons port (14) opening in a panel (11); a handle (23); and hardware constructed and arranged to couple the door plate with the handle and extend through a single penetration (15) in the panel, the single penetration being adjacent to and separate (col. 6 lines 1-5) from the weapons port opening in the panel.
2. Weapons port as in claim 1 wherein the panel extends along a plane; and wherein the hardware includes a threaded member (25) which is constructed and arranged to extend through the single penetration to reside in a perpendicular orientation relative to the plane while mechanically linking the door plate with the handle. (Fig. 3)
Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 7 and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Crotty et al. (US 6,8,6,447). Crotty et al. discloses a weapons port, comprising: a door plate (106) constructed and arranged to control access to a weapons port (110) opening in a panel (112); a handle (154); and hardware constructed and arranged to couple the door plate with the handle and extend through a single penetration (Fig. 2) in the panel, the single penetration being adjacent to and separate (Fig. 2) from the weapons port opening in the panel.
2. Weapons port as in claim 1 wherein the panel extends along a plane; and wherein the hardware includes a threaded member which is constructed and arranged to extend through the single penetration to reside in a perpendicular orientation relative to the plane while mechanically linking the door plate with the handle. (Fig. 3)
3. Weapons port as in claim 2 wherein the hardware further includes: a series of washers and nuts which installs on the threaded member to maintain the threaded member in place relative to the panel while holding the door plate and the handle at a fixed angular displacement relative to each other. (Fig. 3)
6. Weapons port as in claim 3 wherein the series of washers and nuts includes: a set of low friction washers to reduce friction between the weapons port and the panel when the set of low friction washers is installed on the threaded member. (Fig. 3)
7.Weapons port as in claim 6 wherein the set of low friction washers includes: a first low friction washer constructed and arranged to contact the door plate and a first side of the panel, and a second low friction washer constructed and arranged to contact a second side of the panel which is opposite the first side of the panel. (Fig. 3)
17. A blast shield, comprising: a panel (112); and a weapons port (110) coupled with the panel, the weapons port including: a door plate (106) constructed and arranged to control access to a weapons port opening in the panel, a handle (154), and hardware constructed and arranged to couple the door plate with the handle and extend through a single penetration in the panel (Fig. 2), the single penetration being adjacent to and separate from the weapons port opening in the panel (Fig. 2).
18. The blast shield of claim 17 wherein the panel is constructed and arranged to extend outwardly from a vehicle (100).
19. The blast shield of claim 17 wherein the panel forms part of a body of a vehicle (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 8-16 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/MICHELLE CLEMENT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641