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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/1/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because it should read “to automatically latch”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 8, it is unclear what is meant by “a safety member configured to engage with the corresponding safety formations in response to the safety member and the safety formations being aligned”. The phrasing appears to indicate an automatic engagement. Because the engagement is not automatic, it is recommended that this be amended to read “a safety member configured to engage with the corresponding safety formations when the safety member and the safety formations are aligned”.
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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 5,489,110 to Van Dusen.
Regarding claim 1, Van Dusen discloses a rack comprising: a vehicle-coupling portion (19) configured to be mountable to a vehicle for transportation; a carrier portion (14) configured to support one or more items loaded thereon, the carrier portion being supported by the vehicle-coupling portion (Fig. 1); and a linkage (pivot mechanism shown in Fig. 3) configured to pivotally couple the carrier portion and the vehicle-coupling portion, the linkage being configured: to allow the carrier portion to pivot between an upright position and a lowered position in which the carrier portion is tilted away from the vehicle in response to the vehicle-coupling portion being mounted to the vehicle (Figs. 2A-C); and automatically latch the carrier portion into place in response to the carrier portion being raised by a user from the lowered position to the upright position (Fig. 3; Col. 3, lines 1-6).
Regarding claim 2, Van Dusen discloses wherein the linkage comprises a base portion (26) fixed to the vehicle-coupling portion, the base portion supporting the carrier portion for pivotal action between the upright position and the lowered position (Fig. 3), and a latch portion coupled to the carrier portion, the latch portion comprising a latch formation (31) that is configured to engage with a corresponding formation (29) on the base portion.
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) 3-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Dusen in view of US Patent 5,527,146 to Allsop.
Regarding claim 3, Van Dusen fails to disclose the latch portion being pivotally mounted to the carrier portion. However, Allsop discloses a carrier including a latch portion (342) that is a downward-facing hook pivotally mounted to a carrier portion (316). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have positioned the hook (29) on the carrier portion and the pin on the base portion in Van Dusen because the modification only involves a mere reversal of the essential working parts of a device, which involves only routine skill in the art. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). Further, positioning the hook to be facing downward in the combination, as taught by Allsop, would have been obvious because it only involves a simple substitution of one known, equivalent latching configuration (downward facing hook) for another (upward facing hook) to obtain predictable results. The combination discloses wherein the latch portion (29 – Van Dusen) is pivotally mounted to the carrier portion, and wherein the linkage comprises a resilient biasing member (33 – Van Dusen) configured to act between the latch portion and the carrier portion to bias the latch portion into a pivotal orientation to maintain engagement between the latch formation and the corresponding formation on the base portion while the carrier is in the upright position (the spring 33 (Van Dusen) would be moved to the carrier portion to act on the latch portion; the release member (32) would be pivotally secured to the hook 29 and would be strapped to 14).
Regarding claim 4, the combination from claim 3 discloses wherein the latch portion comprises a latch release member (32 – Van Dusen) projecting therefrom, the latch release member being configured to be manipulated by the user to pivot the latch portion against the force of the resilient biasing member to disengage the latch release member and allow the carrier portion to be lowered.
Regarding claim 5, the combination from claim 3 discloses wherein the latch release member comprises a lever handle (32) that projects rearwardly so as to be operable to the user by hand or foot pressing action (Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 6, the combination from claim 3 discloses wherein the base portion comprises a tilt limit member (27) against which a surface of the carrier portion is restable in response to the carrier portion being in the lowered position.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Dusen and Allsop, further in view of US Published Application 2018/0354427 to Yazdian.
Regarding claim 7, the combination from claim 3 fails to disclose wherein the tilt limit member is moveable or removable. However, Yazdian discloses a carrier including a tilt limit member (113) that is removable by the user so as to permit a carrier portion to be further pivoted beyond the lowered position to a horizontal position (para. 0029). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have made the tilt limit member a removable pin in the combination because it would allow full downward rotation and access to doors and tailgates, as taught by Yazdian (para. 0029).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Dusen in view of US Patent 7,097,408 to Paxon.
Regarding claim 8, Van Dusen discloses a safety mechanism (32, 34) for preventing the latch from disengaging, but fails to disclose corresponding safety formations on the latch portion and the base portion. However, Paxon discloses a carrier in which a bar-type securing link (23) is secured in position using a pin (87) through aligned holes. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to have used a pin and aligned holes to secure the end of 32 (Van Dusen) to the carrier portion (14 – Van Dusen) because the modification only involves a simple substitution of one known, equivalent locking method (pin through aligned holes – Paxon) for another (strap secured around bar – Van Dusen) to obtain predictable results. In the combination, corresponding safety formations (aligned holes – Paxon) are configured to align and a safety member (pin 87 – Paxon) engages the aligned safety formations to prevent the latch portion from disengaging from the base portion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited references disclose configurations similar to that disclosed by applicant.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT T MCNURLEN whose telephone number is (313)446-4898. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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/SCOTT T MCNURLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
