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
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 – 6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Geng (US 2014/0246968).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Geng discloses a luggage compartment for an aircraft (1), comprising: a luggage compartment housing (2), a bucket (3) for accommodating a piece of luggage, a hinge (4) between the luggage compartment housing and the bucket, wherein the bucket can be lowered from a closed position to an open position by pivoting about the hinge, and a device (5) for self-opening of the bucket both in an unloaded state and in a state loaded with the piece of luggage, wherein the device for self-opening of the bucket comprises a spring device having a spring element (10) that pushes the bucket toward the open position (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2, Geng discloses that a compression spring (10) is provided as the spring element, which is more strongly tensioned in the closed position of the bucket than in the open position of the bucket (inherent in Geng since spring 10 if compressed while in the closed position).
Regarding claim 3, Geng discloses that the spring device comprises a support element (19, 33, 34) that passes through the spring element from one longitudinal end of the spring element to the other (Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 4, Geng discloses that the support element comprises a cylinder (19) and a piston (33), wherein the piston is extended to different lengths out of the cylinder depending on the tension of the spring element (paragraph [0061]).
Regarding claim 5, Geng discloses that the support element comprises two pistons (33 and 34), each of which is extended out of the cylinder (19) in opposite directions depending on the tension of the spring element (paragraph [0061]).
Regarding claim 6, Geng discloses a damping device (claim 7 of Geng) is provided between the luggage compartment housing and the bucket, which damps the pivoting of the bucket from the closed position to the open position.
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.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geng in view of Schörkhuber (US 2018/0319501).
Regarding claim 7, Geng fails to teach a first bracket is provided on the luggage compartment housing and a second bracket is provided on the bucket, wherein first longitudinal ends of each of the spring device and the damping device are mounted on the first bracket, and second longitudinal ends of each of the spring device and the damping device are mounted on
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the second bracket.
However, Schörkhuber discloses an overhead luggage compartment for an aircraft having a damping device (10) mounted on a first bracket provided on the luggage compartment (2) and a second bracket provided on the bucket (3) – shown in the labeled figure above. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, with reasonable expectation of success to include the brackets of Schörkhuber in the luggage compartment of Geng since doing so would allow the damping device to be mounted to the corresponding portions of the luggage compartment securely.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant contends that Geng does not teach the limitations of claim 1, claiming that the spring in Geng stores energy during opening and releases it during closing. However, paragraph [0010] of Geng states that the gas spring is compressed while the luggage shell is lowered from a closed position to an open position. Furthermore, paragraph [0010] also states that the gas spring expands when the shell is pivoted from the open position into the closed position, providing an “assist force” to the luggage shell during this movement. Since the gas spring provides this assist force to counteract the load during the closing process, the argument that Geng teaches the opposite of the claimed function is unsupported.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/VALENTINA XAVIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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