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 is the first office action for application number 19/049,378, BRACKET ASSEMBLY, filed on February 10, 2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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, 2, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 10,646,040 to Chen et al., hereinafter, Chen. Chen discloses a bracket assembly (24 or 26), comprising: a first bracket (38) arranged with a first mounting member (34); and a second bracket (36) longitudinally movable (Col. 5, lines 4-10) relative to the first bracket, the second bracket being arranged with a second mounting member (32), the second bracket having a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the second bracket facing toward the first bracket, and a supporting member (68) being arranged on the second side of the second bracket and configured to support a carried object (28); wherein the supporting member is arranged with a mounting feature (69b) configured to mount the carried object and wherein the supporting member comprises a longitudinal part (69a) having a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the second end of the longitudinal part is arranged with a bending part (@69b), and the bending part has the mounting feature.
In regards to claims 16, Chen discloses a bracket assembly (24 or 26) applicable to a rack having a first post and a second post, the bracket assembly comprising: a first bracket (36) arranged with a first mounting member (32); and a second bracket (38) longitudinally movable (Col. 5, lines 4-10) relative to the first bracket, the second bracket being arranged with a second mounting member (34), wherein the first mounting member and the second mounting member are configured to be mounted to the first post and the second post respectively, the second bracket has a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side of the second bracket faces toward the first bracket, and a supporting member (52) is arranged on the second side of the second bracket and configured to support a carried object (28); and wherein the supporting member is arranged with a mounting feature (58) configured to mount the carried object when the carried object is retracted into the rack.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-15 and 17-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the limitations of a supporting part and a longitudinal part form a substantially L-shaped structure configured to support a bottom part of the carried object, included in dependent claim 3 and in combination with limitations of the base claim 1 and intervening claim 2, which is not found in the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 12,310,497 to Chen et al. is directed to a slide rail assembly including first and second rails, a plurality of working members and a damping module. U.S. Patent No. 11,060,557 to Chen et al. is directed to a telescopic mechanism having first and second components capable of moving relative to each other along a longitudinal direction. U.S. Patent No. 8,210,623 to Chen et al. is directed to a slide assembly with a damping device including first and second rails, first and second support frame, a rack, and a damper. U.S. Patent No. 6,860,575 to Chen et al. is directed to a slide track assembly having an outer slide track, a medium slide track, an inner slide track and a retainer. U.S. Patent No. 6,666,340 to Basinger et al. is directed to a rack rail assembly having an adjustable length.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANITA M KING whose telephone number is (571)272-6817. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Terrell Mckinnon can be reached at 571-272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANITA M KING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632 July 22, 2026
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