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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a Non-final Office Action for application number 19/031,920 MOUNT FOR HOLDING A HANDHELD DEVICE filed on 1/18/2026. Claims 1-15 and 21-25 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 1/18/2025 and 4/30/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 7, 8, 10, 11 and 15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 4/20/2026.
The traversal is on the ground(s) that the species have not been shown to be independent. The applicant has admitted that the species are distinct (See Remarks dated 4/20/2026, pages 7 and 8. This is not found persuasive because the applicant has failed to submit evidence that the species are obvious variants of each other.
“Should applicant traverse on the ground that the species, or groupings of patentably indistinct species from which election is required, are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing them to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the species unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other species.” (See requirement for Restriction/Election, dated 4/17/2026, page 4)
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim 12 is also withdrawn as being drawn to a non-elected Species B.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-6, 9, 13, 14 and 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent No. 1,720,746 to Povlsen et al.
With regards to claim 1, Povlsen et al. teaches a mount, having a first ring (right 6) adapted to allow a first device to pass partially therethrough, having a first ring outer [AltContent: arrow]portion
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adapted to prevent a first lateral movement of the first device and a second ring (left 6) adapted to allow a second device to pass partially [AltContent: arrow]therethrough, having a second ring outer portion
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adapted to prevent a second lateral movement of the second device.
Povlsen et al. shows that the device is wires and cables. It does not show that the device is a first and second grip of a handheld device. It is clear that the mount is capable of holding wires and cables and that the wires and cables can be gripped at any location along the wires/cables and be held in the users hand. Therefore, it is obvious that the Povlsen et al. device is capable of allowing the grip of a hand held device to pass partially therethrough. Furthermore, the claim states that the device “allows” for this and it is obvious that the device may perform this function.
With regards to claim 2, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount is adapted to allow a third grip (at 15) of the handheld device to pass partially between the first ring and the second ring. (See arguments above and See Figure 3)
With regards to claim 3, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount further comprises a mount bracket (9).
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow]With regards to claim 4, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount bracket comprises a mount hole.
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With regards to claim 5, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount hole is adapted to allow a fastener to pass partially therethrough. (Screws, See line 58)
With regards to claim 6, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount bracket is adapted to connect to a vertical surface, wherein the mount bracket and the vertical surface maintain contact due to the fastener. (See lines 59-60)
With regards to claim 9, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the first ring (6) is substantially circular.
With regards to claim 13, Povlsen et al. does not specifically teaches that gravity maintains a position of the first grip in the first ring, however it is obvious that the principle of gravity would draw the device towards the ground and keep the device biased in that direction.
With regards to claim 14, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the first ring and the second ring are constructed from a single wire. (See Figure 1)
With regards to claim 21, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein a spatial gap separates the first ring and the second ring, wherein the spatial gap is configured to leave a center portion of the handheld device physically unobstructed. (See Figure 1)
With regards to claim 22, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the first ring and the second ring are adapted to support the handheld device such that a front interface of the handheld device remains substantially exposed. (See Figure 3)
With regards to claim 23, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the first ring defines a first opening and the second ring defines a second opening, wherein the first opening and the second opening are disposed in a substantially common plane. (See Figure 1)
With regards to claim 24, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the mount bracket defines a mounting plane, and wherein the first ring and the second ring extend outwardly from the mounting plane. (See Figure 1)
With regards to claim 25, Povlsen et al. teaches wherein the first ring and the second ring extend substantially perpendicular to the mounting plane. (See Figure 1)
Cited References
PN 9,800,028 to Smith et al. teaches a wire device
10,670,170 to Shea et al. teaches a wire device
D401,461 to Laga teaches a wire device
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Amy J. Sterling at telephone number 571-272-6823 or to Supervisor Jonathan Liu at 571-272-8227 if the examiner cannot be reached. The examiner can normally be reached (Mon-Fri 8am-5:00pm). The fax machine number for the Technology center is 571-273-8300 (formal amendments), informal amendments or communications 571-273-6823. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Technology Center receptionist at 571-272-3600.
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/AMY J. STERLING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631 6/4/26
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