Detailed Action
The following is a non-final rejection made in response to claims received on February 21st 2025. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of inadvertent typographical errors found in paras. [0021], [0029] and [0033]. In paragraphs [0021] and [0033], the term “pen” is present and appears to be an advertent misspelling of the word -pin-. In paragraph [0029], the paragraph describes Fig. 23 as showing the sear hooked onto the sear “latch” when the Applicant appears to have intended to refer to the sear -catch-, which is the more consistent term used throughout the disclosure. 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.
(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.
The claims cited in this section are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pat. No. 9,952,012 (hereinafter referred to in this section as “FRANKLIN ARMOR HOLDINGS INC”, “FRANKLIN”, or simply as “the reference”).
Regarding claim 1, Franklin teaches a firearm comprising:
a receiver body (while Franklin’s drawings are limited to the trigger group, the reference teaches that “[t]he trigger group for semi-automatic figures 10 is suitable for use with an AR-15 rifle in the current embodiment”, the AR-15 is considered to include a receiver body; see col. 5, ll. 24-26);
a barrel extending from the receiver housing (the AR-15 is an exemplary firearm in which the trigger group of Franklin may apply, see col. 5, ll. 24-26; the AR-15 is considered to include a barrel extending from a receiver housing);
a trigger assembly (10) with a trigger element (62) movable between a pulled position and a released position, wherein the trigger assembly is switchable (via safety selector 74) between
(i) a safe mode that prevents the trigger element from moving to the pulled position (via “safe mode” shown in Fig. 6);
(ii) a semi-automatic mode that discharges a single round from the barrel responsive to each time the trigger element is moved to the pulled position (via “semi-automatic mode” shown in Fig. 7); and
(iii) a 2-shot mode that discharges an initial round from the barrel when the trigger element is moved to the pulled position and then a subsequent round when the trigger element is moved to the released position (via “binary-mode” shown in Fig. 7; Applicant’s “2-shot mode” is generally referred to as a binary trigger, Franklin establishes when the selector is set to ‘binary-mode’ a first round is discharged upon the initial pull of the trigger and a second round is discharged from its release; col. 7, line 66 through col. 8 line 23 describes the process by which the bolt, subsequent to a discharge resultant from an initial trigger release, resets the hammer into engagement with a specific disconnector in such a way that release of the trigger also releases the connection between the disconnector and the hammer).
Regarding claim 2, Franklin teaches wherein the trigger assembly further comprises: a hammer (12) movable between a cocked position (see Fig. 11a) and a fired position (see Fig. 12); a sear (72) configured to engage at least a portion of the hammer (via notch 24) to retain the hammer in the ready position (see Fig. 11a), wherein the sear is configured to release the hammer responsive to the trigger element moving to the pulled position (“The trigger 62 has been pulled, which has disengage the sear 72 from the notch 24 on the hammer. The disengagement has enabled the hammer 12 to rotate forward under spring pressure to hit the firing pin to discharge a round.” see col. 7, ll. 57-61); a sear catch (via hammer lever 26 and/or binary disconnector 38) configured to prevent the sear from engaging the hammer in the 2-shot mode after discharging the initial round from the barrel (both the binary disconnector and the hammer lever prevent the sear from re-engaging the hammer after the hammer has been reset by the recoiling bolt assembly; see col. 8, ll. 3-23).
Regarding claim 3, Franklin teaches wherein the hammer (12) is configured to disengage the sear catch from the sear responsive to moving towards the fired position subsequent to discharging that the initial round (Figure 12 illustrates the trigger group after the initial pull of the trigger, the Figure shows the hammer 12, the binary disconnector 38, and the hammer lever 26 all disengaged from each other).
Regarding claim 5, Franklin teaches a safety selector (74) configured to select between the safe mode, the semi-automatic mode, and the 2-shot mode (“More particularly, the safety selector provides the user of an associated firearm with three distinct modes: safe mode, semi-automatic mode, and binary mode.”; col. 5, ll. 28-30)1.
Regarding claim 6, Franklin teaches that the safety selector (74) includes a cylindrical portion (a cylindrical housing is shown stationing several cams related to different operating modes of the selector; see Fig. 9c) that blocks the trigger element from moving to the pulled position in the safe mode (“The trigger relief and safety cam 78 has a full diameter section 80 that limits trigger 62 travel to prevent firing in safe mode”, see col. 5, ll. 44-46).
Regarding claim 7, Franklin teaches that the cylindrical portion includes a first pocket having a first depth and a second pocket having a second depth that is deeper than the first depth (a plurality of pockets are shown between the cams mounted on the cylindrical shaft supporting selector switch 74 in Fig. 9c; each of these pockets have varying depths that differ based on the size and positioning of its respective cam).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-24 are allowed. The prior art does not adequately teach the sear is “independently movable with respect to the trigger element” as required by claim 15.
Claims 4, 8-14 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
While the Examiner is available via telephone to help resolve administrative issues regarding a patent application, Applicants are encouraged to consider utilizing the USPTO’s Inventor Assistance Center for general administrative and/or procedural matters at 800-786-9199. Issues relating to patentability and/or prospective amendments may be more efficiently discussed via email correspondence subsequent to the filing of form PTO/SB/439 (“Authorization for Internet Communications in a Patent Application”) authorizing permission for internet communication. The form is available online may be submitted for the record along with any other response to this action. In accordance with current USPTO policy, this form must be submitted on the record prior to internet communications being authorized. A written statement by the Applicant authorizing internet communications on the record is not sufficient. Once authorization is submitted, the Applicant may contact the Examiner at samir.abdosh@uspto.gov. In the event that a telephone conversation would be the easiest means of resolving issues related to the subject matter of a pending patent application, the Examiner may be reached by telephone at 303-297-4454. Interviews will not be granted after issuance of a final rejection unless it is to discuss an amendment that either places the application in condition for allowance or simplifies issues for appeal.
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/Samir Abdosh/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
1 The Applicant’s “2-shot mode” trigger is commonly known in the art as binary trigger. In Franklin, “2-shot mode”, where the firearm discharges a round upon an initial trigger pull and discharges a second round upon the release of said trigger pull, is referred to as “binary mode.”
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