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 .
Remarks
This communication is in response to Application No. 19/305,835 filed on 08/21/2025.
Claims 1-10 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 5/11/2026 and 8/28/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the [claim 1] “…such that the bottoms and the tops of the two side frame assemblies respectively approach inward and expand outward; …” (emphasis added) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities: Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation, 37 CFR 1.75(i). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation Under 35 USC § 112
No claim elements in this application are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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(s) 2-10 is/are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the side frame assembly" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is noted that antecedent basis is provided, via claim 1, for “two side frame assemblies”.
Claims 3-10 are rejected via dependency.
NOTE: any prior art rejection provided below is made as best understood in view of the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) issues above.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by to US 6,256,814, hereinafter D1.
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As to claim 1.
D1 discloses a folding baby crib (figures), comprising
two side frame assemblies (annotated fig. 1 has two sides circled), two folding rod assemblies (see annotated figure 1), two bottom frame assemblies (one or more of 36, 38, 40, 32), and an unlocking base (32), wherein the two side frame assemblies (see annotated figure 1) are symmetrically arranged in a left-to-right direction (fig. 1);
the two folding rod assemblies (see annotated figure 1) are symmetrically arranged in a front-to-rear direction (see annotated figure 1 where ‘front and rear’ are arbitrary) between tops of the two side frame assemblies (fig. 1);
an end of the folding rod assembly is rotatable downward with the top of the side frame assembly (compare figs. 4 and 5);
the unlocking base (32) is connected between the two bottom frame assemblies (fig. 1);
an end of the bottom frame assembly away from the unlocking base (32) is rotatable upward with a bottom of the side frame assembly (end of 38, 40 proximal to 22 is “rotating upward” in fig. 5);
the unlocking base (32) is internally provided (fig. 9) with locking pins (150), wherein the locking pins (150) are retractable (compare figs. 11 and 12);
an end of the bottom frame assembly adjacent to the unlocking base (32) is provided with locking pin holes (see annotated figure 13) for inserting the locking pins (fig. 11);
a middle (fig. 11) of the unlocking base (32) is provided with an unlocking element (210), wherein the unlocking element is pullable upward (fig. 12);
when the unlocking element is pulled upward (as in fig. 12), the unlocking element drives the locking pins to retract and detach from the locking pin holes (fig. 12);
an outer periphery of the side frame assembly is connected to an outer shell (such as 20 in fig. 6);
when the unlocking base (32) is pulled upward (fig. 12), the two bottom frame assemblies are folded upward (compare figs. 4-5), such that the bottoms and the tops of the two side frame assemblies respectively approach inward and expand outward (fig. 5);
middles of the two folding rod assemblies (see annotated figure 1) are automatically folded downward (see annotated figure 5) as the tops of the two side frame assemblies expand outward (see annotated figure 5); and
one of the two folding rod assemblies (see annotated figure 1) is allowed to be raised and lowered (compare figs. 4-5 where “raised” = fig. 5 to fig. 4 and “lowered” is fig. 4 to fig. 5).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the attached PTOL-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as each further discloses a state of the art.
The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record in the body of this action for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. Applicant should consider the entire prior art as applicable as to the limitations of the claims. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the response, to consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or pointed out by the examiner.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to J. T. Newton, Esq. whose telephone number is (313)446-4899. The examiner can normally be reached 0700-1500 M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SPE Justin Mikowski can be reached at (571) 272-8525. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J. T. Newton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673 31 July 2026
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