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 Objections
Claim 38 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim appears to include two periods (“.”) (see ends of lines 7 and 10), which is improper. 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.
Claims 28-29, 33-35, 39-40, and 44-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 99/36743 to Gagnon, evidenced by US 5,175,388 to Maher et al. (“Maher,” incorporated by reference).
Re: claim 28, Gagnon discloses the claimed invention including a magazine 52, 54, e.g., Fig. 3, for ammunition, page 6, first paragraph, the magazine comprising: a first magazine cam track (Maher 58; Maher discloses, “the bucket carrier endplates 14 are equipped with outwardly extending posts 50,” col. 4, ll. 20-22, and “in FIG. 8, the free ends of the posts extending beyond the links carry rollers 56 running in stationary guide channels 58 to support and direct the conveyor along a typically endless serpentine path throughout the magazine interior,” id., ll. 25-29; see, e.g., Figs. 1 and 7-8); a second magazine cam track in spaced relation to the first magazine cam track (whether such can be reasonably inferred from Gagnon, Maher discloses the two ends of bucket 12, each having endplates 14 having posts 50, which suffices); a plurality of ammunition holders (Gagnon 60, Maher 12) coupled to the first and second magazine cam tracks (shown/disclosed), each ammunition holder being configured to operatively interface with a single round of ammunition (Maher 26, 26a), the plurality of ammunition holders being configured such that separate portions of the plurality of ammunition holders are concurrently positionable along respective first, second, and third axes (Gagnon, e.g., Fig. 3), each ammunition holder being configured to enable an ammunition round to be advanceable therethrough (at least Maher meets this limitation); a plurality of links (Maher 52), each link being connected to an adjacent pair of the plurality of ammunition holders (shown); and a plurality of cam followers (Maher 50/56) coupled to the plurality of links and configured to facilitate movement of the plurality of ammunition holders along the first magazine cam track and the second magazine cam track (shown/disclosed).
Re: claim 29, Gagnon/Maher fairly discloses wherein the plurality of cam followers include a first set of cam followers associated with the first magazine cam track (e.g., one side) and a second set of cam follows associated with the second magazine cam track (the other side), the first set of cam followers being affixed to every other one of the plurality of links (shown/disclosed), and the second set of cam follows being affixed to the remaining ones of the plurality of links (also shown/disclosed). Note that either Gagnon or Maher disclosing the first and second sets of cam followers being affixed to each and every one of the plurality of links meets this limitation, at least in part because claim 28 relies on the transitional phrase/term “comprising,” which is inclusive or open-ended, i.e., does not exclude other structure. Thus, the first and second sets of cam followers being attached to every link is not excluded.
Re: claim 33, Gagnon/Maher fairly discloses wherein the first magazine cam track and the second magazine cam track are configured so as not to cross each other because each is on opposing sides of the magazine. Thus, no crossing of tracks is possible.
Re: claim 34, Gagnon/Maher fairly disclose wherein the first magazine cam track and the second magazine cam track are configured to facilitate movement of the plurality of ammunition holders such that a given pair of the plurality of ammunition holders proceed from both being on the first axis to one of the pair proceeding along the second axis and the other of the pair proceeding along the third axis. That the cam tracks facilitate movement of the ammunition holders through three axes meets this limitation because a pair can include a first and third, say, between the four levels shown in Gagnon, wherein at least one ammunition holder separates the two others of the pair. Obviously, a pair of holders can include more holders therebetween and, thus, any two holders beginning on the same level and moving to where one remains on that level but the other moves to a higher/lower level meets this limitation as well.
Re: claim 35, see the latter explanation of claim 34, above.
Anent claims 39-40 and 44-46, see relevant claims, above. Specifically, re: claim 44, Gagnon/Maher fairly discloses cam tracks not crossing each other.
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 37 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gagnon/Maher in view of DE 28 48 146 to Bourgine et al. (“Bourgine,” cited by Applicant).
Gagnon/Maher discloses the claimed invention as applied above except for further comprising a rammer head moveable relative to the plurality of ammunition holders between a retracted position and an actuated position.
Bourgine teaches a magazine, e.g., Fig. 1, for ammunition 9, e.g., Fig. 2, a first cam track 1, a second cam track 2, a plurality of ammunition holders, inter alia, 3, further comprising a rammer head 26, e.g., Fig. 4, moveable relative to the plurality of ammunition holders between a retracted position and an actuated position (page 4, paragraph beginning, “In Fig. 4…” and page 5, paragraph beginning “The outer container…”) in the same field of endeavor for the purpose of loading ammunition “without interruption,” id.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gagnon/Maher as taught by Bourgine in order to load ammunition without interruption with a reasonable expectation of success because Bourgine further discloses “very short loading times,” page 2, paragraph beginning, “The loading device…” Further rationale: All claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to a skilled artisan at the time the invention was made.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 30-32, 36, 38, 41-43, and 47 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. Reasons for allowance to be included in a future action, if necessary.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Bret Hayes at telephone number (571) 272 – 6902, fax number (571) 273-6902, or email address bret.hayes@uspto.gov, which is preferred, especially for requesting interviews, general questions, etc. Note, however, that return correspondence cannot be made in the event that information subject to the confidentiality requirement as set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 122 has been included. See MPEP §§ 502.03 and 713.01, I, regarding email communications. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays through Fridays from 5:30 AM to 1:30 PM, Eastern.
The Central FAX Number is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to contact the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Troy Chambers, can be reached at (571) 272 – 6874.
/Bret Hayes/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641
23-Mar-26