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 action is in response to Application #19/023,041 and response filed on 30 June 2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 30 June 2026 is acknowledged.
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, 3, 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 5,063,905 issued to Farrell.
Regarding Claim 1, Farrell discloses an apparatus comprising:
an air gun configured to propel a projectile without the use of combustion at a preselected velocity (Abstract), the air gun including:
a chamber of a barrel for queuing the projectile for transport into a bore of the barrel (see fig.1, location of projectile 40);
a bore of the barrel coupled to the chamber for expelling the projectile at the preselected velocity (see fig.8 at 30);
a punter aligned coaxially with the bore of the barrel and behind the chamber of the barrel, the punter arranged to strike the projectile when triggered (punter 103 from fig.1 to fig.2);
a source of compressed gas coupled to the chamber (at least column 3 lines 23-24, fig.3, 49);
a trigger mechanism arranged to trigger the punter to strike the projectile and to cause a predetermined portion of the compressed gas to enter the chamber behind the projectile to expel the projectile at the preselected velocity through he bore when activated (at least column 12 lines 17-30); and
at least one first valve disposed between the chamber and the source of compressed gas and arranged to open for a limited duration when the trigger mechanism is activated to introduce the predetermined portion of the compressed gas into the chamber behind the projectile (valve 70, see at least column 10 lines 13-25).
Regarding Claim 3, Farrell discloses a pneumatic valve configured to open the at least one first valve when the trigger mechanism is activated (at least column 12 lines 17-30).
Regarding Claim 7, Farrell discloses a detent protruding from an interior of the chamber and biased to press against a side surface of the projectile while the projectile is within the chamber (see fig.8, 43).
Claim(s) 1, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2011/0088675 to Wood.
Regarding Claim 1, Wood discloses an apparatus comprising:
an air gun configured to propel a projectile without the use of combustion at a preselected velocity (Abstract), the air gun including:
a chamber of a barrel for queuing the projectile for transport into a bore of the barrel (see fig.3, location of projectile 110);
a bore of the barrel coupled to the chamber for expelling the projectile at the preselected velocity (104);
a punter aligned coaxially with the bore of the barrel and behind the chamber of the barrel, the punter arranged to strike the projectile when triggered (punter 109 from fig.3 to fig.6);
a source of compressed gas coupled to the chamber (at least paragraph 28);
a trigger mechanism arranged to trigger the punter to strike the projectile and to cause a predetermined portion of the compressed gas to enter the chamber behind the projectile to expel the projectile at the preselected velocity through he bore when activated (at least paragraph 28, trigger assembly not shown but inherently present); and
at least one first valve disposed between the chamber and the source of compressed gas and arranged to open for a limited duration when the trigger mechanism is activated to introduce the predetermined portion of the compressed gas into the chamber behind the projectile (at least paragraphs 28-30).
Regarding Claims 9-10, Wood discloses a bolt in communication with an action of the air gun (figs. 3-6, 103), wherein the punter is disposed within the bolt and is configured to move within the bolt (figs. 3-6, movement of 109), and a punter spring configured to bias the punter relative to the bolt (spring 122).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 5,063,905 issued to Farrell in view of US Patent Application Publication 2013/0319389 to Cho.
Regarding Claim 8, Farrell discloses the apparatus of claim 1, but fails to specifically disclose one or more safety systems coupled to the source of compressed gas configured to allow the source of compressed gas to be depressurized when not in use or when over charged. However, Cho discloses a similar compressed gas projectile launcher comprising an overpressure protection device (safety) configured to allow the source of compressed gas to be depressurized when over charged (see at least paragraph 31). The incorporation of such a device into the air gun of Farrell would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill for the advantage of providing additional safety protection to a user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-6 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. Please see attached PTO-892 for pertinent art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN D COOPER whose telephone number is (571)270-3998. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 - 4:30 MST.
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, TROY CHAMBERS can be reached at 571-272-6874. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN COOPER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
