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 as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: adjustment gap 12.
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. 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, the recitation “a limiting” should be “the limiting”.
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, the recitation “plate connected” should be “plate configured to be connected”.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8, and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 10 2015 005 484 A1 (Laumerich).
With respect to claim 1: Laumerich discloses a turntable of a high cabinet rotating basket, comprising: a turntable basket body (tray 8), a turntable bracket (at least the two support arms 11) configured to support the turntable basket body (at least Fig. 6), and a rotation-shaft disc (mounting plate 15 and ratchet 17) fixedly mounted at a bottom of the turntable basket body, wherein the rotation-shaft disc is provided with a basket-body rotation shaft (bearing bolt 16 of mounting plate 15) and limiting spring plates (locking lugs 22 of ratchet 17); the limiting spring plates correspond respectively to central axes of four side surfaces of the turntable basket body (Applicant’s Fig. 2 shows limiting spring plates 5 generally correspond to the four corners of basket body 1; Laumerich Fig. 7 shows locking lugs 22 generally correspond to the four corners 9.2 of tray 8); one end of the turntable bracket is configured to connect with a column (hanging rail 12) of the high cabinet rotating basket (at least Fig. 6) and the other end is provided with a bracket fixing clamp (Fig. 8: at least bearing sleeves 20, may include cap cover 21); the basket-body rotation shaft is inserted into the bracket fixing clamp after being provided with a bearing (one or both of the bearings 19), and the bearing is locked on the basket-body rotation shaft through the bracket fixing clamp (bearings 19 are held on bearing bolt/pin 16 inside the bearing sleeves 20), so that the turntable basket body is able to rotate relative to the turntable bracket (“Thus, a fitting is provided with a tray, in which the tray without a pull-out movement inside the cabinet can be rotated or pivoted about the vertical axis of rotation of the hinge, so that the user can turn the tray area of the he or she wants to remove an item or place it on it.”); and the turntable bracket is further provided with a positioning pin (Fig. 9: locking bolt 21) configured to provide positioning, and the positioning pin plays a positioning role after rotating to a position of the limiting spring plates (as tray 8 rotates, locking bolt 21 engages the indentations 25 of the four locking lugs 22 to thereby defines four rotational positions of the tray 8).
With respect to claim 2: Laumerich discloses wherein the limiting spring plates are provided with a limiting clamping groove (indentation 25), and the limiting clamping groove is able to cooperate with the positioning pin for positioning (“the locking bolt 21 into the indentation 25 ( 7 ) can immerse in predeterminable standing or swivel positions of the tray 8th”).
With respect to claim 3: Laumerich discloses wherein the limiting spring plates (locking lugs 22) comprise a first connecting part (Fig. 7: one of the two web-like areas 24), a positioning part (part having indentation 25), and a second connecting part (Fig. 7: the other of the two web-like areas 24) connected sequentially; a limiting clamping groove (indentation 25) is arranged on the positioning part; one end of the first connecting part, away from the positioning part, is connected to the rotation-shaft disc (at least Fig. 7), and one end of the second connecting part, away from the positioning part, is connected to the rotation-shaft disc (at least Fig. 7); and in a direction from close to the limiting clamping groove to far from the limiting clamping groove, a distance between the first connecting part and the basket-body rotation shaft gradually increases (Fig. 7); and/or a distance between the second connecting part and the basket-body rotation shaft gradually increases (Fig. 7).
With respect to claim 4: Laumerich discloses wherein an adjustment gap (“recesses in the latching collar 23”; Fig. 7: where the lead line for reference numeral 23 ends) is provided between the limiting spring plates and the rotation-shaft disc (Fig. 7 shows the not-numbered recesses or “adjustment gaps” between each lug 22 and the rest of the body of ratchet 17).
With respect to claim 8: Laumerich discloses wherein the turntable basket body comprises a bottom plate (Fig. 6: horizontal footprint 9) and a surrounding plate (rectilinear areas 9.1, corner areas 9.2, and/or railing 10); the bottom plate and the surrounding plate are connected to enclose jointly, forming a placement chamber (Fig. 5); and the bottom plate is connected with the rotation-shaft disc (mounting plate 15 attaches to horizontal footprint 9).
With respect to claim 12: Laumerich discloses wherein the high cabinet rotating basket further comprises a threaded fastener (“screw-in bearing sleeves 20”; not-numbered screws in Fig. 8), and the bracket fixing clamp clamps the bearing through the threaded fastener to achieve locking of the bearing.
With respect to claim 13: Laumerich discloses wherein a decorative sheet (cap cover 21) is further mounted at (at: in, on, or near) a bottom of the rotation-shaft disc.
With respect to claim 14: Laumerich discloses wherein a spacer (disk 18) is further mounted between the bearing and the rotation-shaft disc.
With respect to claim 15: Laumerich discloses wherein the turntable bracket comprises two support rods (two support arms 11), wherein one end of each of the two support rods is respectively provided with a mounting plate connected to the column (at least Fig. 6), and the other end of each of the two support rods is fixedly connected to the bracket fixing clamp (at least Fig. 6); and the positioning pin is arranged at one end of one of the support rods near the bracket fixing clamp (at least Figs. 8-9).
With respect to claim 16: Laumerich discloses wherein four limiting spring plates are provided (at least Fig. 7); each of the limiting spring plates is correspondingly provided with one limiting clamping groove (at least Fig. 7); and each of the limiting spring plates corresponds to one side surface of the turntable basket body (at least Fig. 7).
With respect to claim 17: Laumerich discloses further comprising a decorative cover (cap cover 21), wherein the decorative cover is provided with a clamping groove (internal space) corresponding to the support rods for embedding (Figs. 6-7).
With respect to claim 18: Laumerich discloses a high cabinet rotating basket, comprising a column (hanging rail 12) and the turntable of the high cabinet rotating basket according to claim 1 (at least Fig. 6), wherein one end of the turntable bracket away from the bracket fixing clamp is connected to the column (at least Fig. 6).
With respect to claim 19: Laumerich discloses wherein multiple turntables of the high cabinet rotating basket are provided (Figs. 1-2), and the multiple turntables of the high cabinet rotating basket are arranged at intervals along the column (Figs. 1-2).
With respect to claim 20: Laumerich discloses a storage cabinet, comprising a cabinet body (Figs. 1-2: side walls 2-3, back wall 4, top and bottom walls) and the high cabinet rotating basket according to claim 18 (Figs. 1-2), wherein the cabinet body has a mounting space (interior volume in Figs. 1-2); the high cabinet rotating basket is arranged in the mounting space (Figs. 1-2); and the column is connected to the cabinet body (Figs. 1-2; “Each tray is over V-shaped aligned support arms 11 supported on the cabinet body, wherein the support arms 11 in hanging rails 12 with corresponding receiving openings 13 are hung.”).
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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 10 2015 005 484 A1 (Laumerich) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of US 2003/0155317 A1 (McNeeley).
With respect to claim 9: Laumerich does not disclose “wherein the turntable basket body further comprises a snap-fit member, and the bottom plate and the surrounding plate are snap-fitted through the snap-fit member” as claimed.
McNeeley shows it is known in the art to snap-fit members together using clips 26 (Fig. 3, [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Laumerich’s railing 10 and horizontal footprint 9 to be connected with McNeeley’s snap-fit clips 26, as the use of known connecting means to join the components of Laumerich’s invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 10-11 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW ROERSMA whose telephone number is (571)270-3185. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at 571-270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW ROERSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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