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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by May et al. US 2026/0108126. May et al. discloses an apparatus comprising: a handle 104, the handle being elongated between a grip end and a support end; a platform 102 pivotably coupled to the support end of the handle; a pivot mechanism 114 coupling the handle and the platform together, the pivot mechanism comprising a first pivoting member 116 and a second pivoting member 118 which are pivotably coupled together, the first pivoting member being coupled to the support end of the handle, the second pivoting member being coupled to the platform, the pivot mechanism comprising a pivot lock 140, the pivot lock being selectively engageable with the first and second pivoting members to fix the first pivoting member with respect to the second pivoting member; wherein the handle has an adjustable length between the grip end and the support end.
wherein the handle comprises a plurality of telescoping sections 150, 152 arranged between the grip end and the support end. wherein a bottom surface of the platform has a planar shape, a top surface of the platform having a planar shape; a thickness of the platform between the bottom surface and the top surface being uniform.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 and 11-12 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
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/KEVIN HURLEY/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3611
September 4, 2026
