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) 4, 5 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bender (US 12,339,081). Bender discloses a firearm comprising: a safety bar (72) configured to engage with a safety selector (79) and with a trigger (20) and to transition between a first safety configuration and a second safety configuration, wherein: in the first safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is engaged with the trigger to prevent the trigger from being actuated, in the second safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is not engaged with the trigger, thereby allowing the trigger to be actuated to move the trigger from a first trigger configuration to a second trigger configuration, in the first trigger configuration, a sear surface of the trigger is engaged with a hammer to prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm, and in the second trigger configuration, the sear surface of the trigger does not prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm. (col. 3, lines 40-60)
5. The firearm of claim 4, further comprising a lever (70) configured to open and close.
23. Bender inherently discloses a method of manufacturing a firearm, comprising: assembling a safety assembly for the firearm, the safety assembly comprising: a safety bar (72) configured to engage with a safety selector (79) and with a trigger (20) and to transition between a first safety configuration and a second safety configuration, wherein: in the first safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is engaged with the trigger to prevent the trigger from being actuated, in the second safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is not engaged with the trigger, thereby allowing the trigger to be actuated to move the trigger from a first trigger configuration to a second trigger configuration, in the first trigger configuration, a sear surface of the trigger is engaged with a hammer to prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm, and in the second trigger configuration, the sear surface of the trigger does not prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm. (col. 3, lines 40-60)
Claim(s) 4 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by DeMonico (US 12,031,784) (based on the filing date of Provisional application 63/276,090). DeMonico discloses a firearm comprising: a safety bar (26) configured to engage with a safety selector (12) and with a trigger (14) and to transition between a first safety configuration and a second safety configuration, wherein: in the first safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is engaged with the trigger to prevent the trigger from being actuated, in the second safety configuration, the safety bar is engaged with the safety selector such that the safety bar is not engaged with the trigger, thereby allowing the trigger to be actuated to move the trigger from a first trigger configuration to a second trigger configuration, in the first trigger configuration, a sear surface of the trigger is engaged with a hammer (34) to prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm, and in the second trigger configuration, the sear surface of the trigger does not prevent the hammer from being released to fire the firearm. (col. 4, lines 8-22)
16. The firearm of claim 4, wherein the safety bar includes a region configured to receive a portion of the safety selector, and the safety bar is configured to engage with the safety selector via the region and the portion. (Fig. 2)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-15, 17-22 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE CLEMENT whose telephone number is (571)272-6884. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6.
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/MICHELLE CLEMENT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
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