DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are active.
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 .
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.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant claims priority to prior Application No. 18/516,643, filed 11/21/2023, as a continuation application. However, while this application repeats a substantial portion of prior Application No. 18/516,643, it also adds disclosure not presented in the prior application. Specifically, the embodiments of Figs. 11-17 of the drawings, as well as the corresponding portions of the written specification, are not present in prior Application No. 18/516,643. Because this application names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application, it may constitute a continuation-in-part of the prior application. Should applicant desire to claim the benefit of the filing date of the prior application, attention is directed to 35 U.S.C. 120, 37 CFR 1.78, and MPEP § 211 et seq. The presentation of a benefit claim may result in an additional fee under 37 CFR 1.17(w)(1) or (2) being required, if the earliest filing date for which benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) and 1.78(d) in the application is more than six years before the actual filing date of the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 4/7/2025. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [0002], applicant states that the title of prior Application No. 18/516,643 is “MONOLITHIC SUPPRESSOR FOR A FIREARM”. However, the title of prior Application No. 18/516,643 is titled “MODULAR SUPPRESSOR WITH BEVELED SEGMENTS”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 2-3, 11-13, and 15 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 2-3 and 12-13, “a front end of the core” in line 3 should say “[[a]] the front end of the core”, since a front end of the core was already recited in claims 1 and 11, respectively.
Regarding claim 11, “a projectile” in line 5 should say “[[a]] the projectile”, since a projectile was already recited.
Regarding claim 15, “the extends askew the longitindal axis” in line 5 should say “the slot extends askew the longitudinal axis”.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8, 11-13, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sims (US 12487045), herein ‘Sims’.
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Sims discloses a gun (col. 3 lines 5-24) configured to launch a projectile (col. 8 lines 52-63), said gun comprising:
a receiver (col. 3 lines 5-24; “AR-15 style firearms”) configured to initiate launching the projectile (col. 8 lines 52-63);
a barrel (col. 3 lines 5-24; col. 6 lines 1-19) configured to convey the projectile from a rear end of the barrel at the receiver forward to a muzzle of the barrel (col. 8 lines 52-63); and
a suppressor (100) configured to launch the projectile from the barrel of the gun (col. 8 lines 52-63), said suppressor comprising:
a core (102; Figs. 3 and 7E) configured to extend longitudinally (Figs. 3 and 7E), said core having a rear end (Fig. 3) configured to attach to the barrel of the gun (via rear mount 121; col. 6 lines 1-19) and a front end (Fig. 3) opposite the rear end;
a housing (106; Figs. 3 and 7E) configured to extend longitudinally about the core (Figs. 3 and 7E); and
a baffle (107-108; Figs. 3 and 7E) extending radially between the core and the housing when the suppressor is assembled (Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Sims discloses wherein the suppressor further comprises an end cap (181) at a front end of the suppressor when the suppressor is assembled (Fig. 3), said end cap configured to attach to the front end of the core (Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Sims discloses wherein the suppressor further comprises an end cap (181) at a front end of the suppressor (Fig. 3), said end cap configured to attach to the front end of the core by threading onto the core (via threaded attachment interfaces 195-196).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Sims discloses wherein the core comprises a cylindrical wall (Fig. 7F);
wherein the core is configured to attach to the barrel of the gun (col. 6 lines 1-19) via a barrel bushing (121) of the suppressor;
wherein the barrel bushing is configured to attach to the barrel of the gun by threadingly engaging the barrel of the gun (col. 6 lines 1-19); and
wherein the housing is configured to attach to the core by threading onto the core (via threaded attachment interfaces 115-116).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 4-7 and 9-10 and claims 14-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sims (US 12487045) as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, respectively, and further in view of Dorne (US 2020/0173751), herein ‘Dorne’.
Regarding claims 4-7, 9-10, 14-17, and 19-20, Sims discloses wherein the core comprises a cylindrical wall (Fig. 7F); wherein the wall of the core has a plurality of slots (110) therethrough; wherein each of the plurality of slots do not extend radially about the longitudinal axis (col. 5 lines 19-45); wherein the core extends longitudinally (Fig. 3) along a longitudinal axis (X); wherein the baffle is one of a plurality of baffles (107-108; Figs. 3 and 7E) extending radially between the core and the housing when the suppressor is assembled (Figs. 3 and 7E); wherein each of the plurality of baffles are positioned longitudinally between slots of the plurality of slots (Figs. 3 and 7E); wherein a first portion (107) of each of the plurality of baffles extends radially outward from the wall of the core (Fig. 7E); and wherein a second portion (108) of each of the plurality of baffles extends radially inward from the housing (Fig. 7E) to a corresponding first portion of the baffle (Fig. 7E); but does not expressly teach wherein each of the plurality of slots is askew with respect to the longitudinal axis such that each of the plurality of slots extends helically or spirally about the longitudinal axis along the wall of the core.
Dorne teaches a suppressor (100) for a firearm (par. 44) comprising a core (2, 4, 5; Fig. 2B) configured to extend longitudinally, the core having a rear end (Fig. 2B; left end) configured to attach to a barrel of the firearm (via proximal cap 1) and a front end opposite the rear end (Fig. 2B; right end), a housing (10 and/or 20) configured to extend longitudinally about the core (Fig. 2B), and a baffle (3) extending radially between the core and the housing when the suppressor is assembled (Fig. 2B), wherein the core comprises a plurality of slots (2d, 4d, 5d) which are each askew with respect to a longitudinal axis (x1) such that each of the plurality of slots extends helically about the longitudinal axis along the wall of the core (Fig. 5B, 6C, 7B; par. 43).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the slots of Sims to extend helically about the longitudinal axis along the core as taught by Dorne with a reasonable expectation of success in order to facilitate a disruptive gas release pattern during operation and optionally facilitate application of a left-hand torque on the suppressor to retain the suppressor tightly secured to the muzzle of the firearm (Dorne; par. 44).
Conclusion
Claims 1-20 are rejected.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN S GOMBERG whose telephone number is (571)272-4802. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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/Troy Chambers/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3641
/BENJAMIN S. GOMBERG/
Examiner
Art Unit 3641