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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a Non-final Office Action for application number 19/173,080 LIFTING TRIPOD filed on 4/8/2025. Claims 1-11 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 4/8/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 2 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent Publication No. 2004/0051010 to Blackburn.
With regards to claim 1, the publication to Blackburn discloses a lifting tripod (10), having a first section (13); a second section (14) movably connected to the first section; a third section (15) movably connected to the second section; a locking mechanism (17, 18, 23, 24) operable to lock the first section, the second section, and the third section; (See 0035, “The upper cross member 17 also includes a first fixing means mounted therein for selectively locking and unlocking the first leg unit in position relative to the second leg unit. Similarly, the lower cross member includes a second fixing means for selectively locking and unlocking the third leg unit in position relative to the second leg unit”) the locking mechanism further operable to release the first section, the second section and the third section (See 0035); the locking mechanism having a first locking assembly (17, 23), a connecting assembly (25), and a second locking assembly (18, 24); the first locking assembly is provided at a top of the second section (See Figure 4) and the second locking assembly is provided at a bottom of the second section (See Figure 4); and the first locking assembly and the second locking assembly are connected via the connecting assembly (25).
With regards to claim 2, Blackburn teaches wherein the first locking assembly (17, 23) has a first mounting sleeve (33, 34), a locking member (23), and a pressing member (37); wherein the first mounting sleeve is provided at the top of the second section, and the first section is provided within the first mounting sleeve; wherein the locking member and the pressing member are connected; and in response to an actuation of the locking member, the pressing member is configured to move away from the first mounting sleeve to release the first section, or move toward the first mounting sleeve to lock the first section. (See Figure 5)
With regards to claim 8, Blackburn teaches wherein the second locking assembly has a second mounting sleeve (18, 41, 42), a fourth regulating part (45), and a fifth regulating part (46); wherein the second mounting sleeve is connected to one end of the second section away from the first locking assembly; wherein the third section (15) is movably connected to the second mounting sleeve; wherein the fourth regulating part and the fifth regulating part are provided in the second mounting sleeve; wherein the fourth regulating part is connected to one end of the connecting assembly away from the first locking assembly; and wherein the first locking assembly is configured to drive the connecting assembly to move, thereby engaging the fourth regulating part with the fifth regulating part, enabling the fifth regulating part to lock or release the third section. (See 0035)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 9-11 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.
With regards to claim 3, the prior art does not teach wherein the first locking assembly further comprises a first regulating part, a second regulating part, and a third regulating part; wherein the locking member comprises a locking wrench and a connecting rod; wherein the first regulating part and the second regulating part are movably disposed on the connecting rod; wherein a first end of the second regulating part cooperates with the first regulating part, and a second end of the second regulating part cooperates with the third regulating part; wherein the third regulating part is connected to the connecting assembly; and in response to an actuation of the locking wrench, the first regulating part is configured to drive movement of the second regulating part and the third regulating part, thereby enabling the connecting assembly to move and drive the second locking assembly to lock or release the third section.
With regards to claim 9, the prior art does not teach wherein the fourth regulating part is provided with a fifth inclined surface, and the fifth regulating part is provided with a sixth inclined surface; and wherein the fourth regulating part is configured to cooperate with the sixth inclined surface through the fifth inclined surface to drive the fifth regulating part to lock or release the third section.
Cited References
PN 5,267,712 to Shen shows tripod
PN 2010/0064739 to Lu shows a tripod
PN 2026/0139789 to Tang shows a tripod leg
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Amy J. Sterling at telephone number 571-272-6823 or to Supervisor Jonathan Liu at 571-272-8227 if the examiner cannot be reached. The examiner can normally be reached (Mon-Fri 8am-5:00pm). The fax machine number for the Technology center is 571-273-8300 (formal amendments), informal amendments or communications 571-273-6823. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Technology Center receptionist at 571-272-3600.
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/AMY J. STERLING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631 7/21/26
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