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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 & 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (US patent application publication 2024/0245213) (hereinafter Chen).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses an arrangement for tipping-over-prevention of a chest of drawers that includes a partition wall (38) separating two columns of drawers (24a, 24b), the arrangement comprising: a first drawer locking arrangement having a first guiding rail (76) configured to be movably mounted to a first side of the partition wall; a second drawer locking arrangement having a second guiding rail (74) configured to be movably mounted to a second side of the partition wall, opposite the first side; a plurality of locking members (80, 90); wherein each of the first and the second guiding rails supports at least two of the locking members, each locking member being configured to selectively engage an associated drawer, and selectively allow only one drawer in a column to be opened at a time; and a connector arrangement (64) configured to interconnect the first and the second guiding rails via a through-going opening (H1) in the partition wall, such that the first and the second guiding rails are configured to be moved as one common unit relative to the partition wall ([0039-0044]).
Regarding claim 19, Chen discloses a chest of drawers comprising a partition wall separating two columns of drawers, and an arrangement for tipping-over-prevention according to claim 1 (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-18 are allowed.
Claims 2-15 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 because it gives a general state of the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J ROHRHOFF whose telephone number is (571)270-7624. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dan 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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/DANIEL J ROHRHOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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