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 .
Amendment filed 2/10/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-2, 4, 7-13 and 17-20 remain pending in the present application.
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.
Claims 9, 11-13 and 17-20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re. Cls. 9 and 17, the limitation “the base is connected with a support column” renders the claim indefinite in the Examiner’s position. Applicant defines the base as (10) and the support column as (11) as can be seen in Fig. 1. It is the Examiner’s understanding that the base includes the support column (11) and lifting module (12) as shown in amended Fig. 1. Based on this configuration, it is not clear what is mean by the ”base is connected with a support column” since the base is comprised of or includes the support column, rendering the claim indefinite in the Examiner’s position. It is suggested that the Applicant amend the limitation to read “the base includes a support column” or something equivalent to overcome this issue.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the clamping groove" in Line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicant has amended claim 11 to incorporate the subject matter from claims 14-16, but the “clamping groove” was established in claim 12 and not included in amended claim 11, thereby causing the antecedent basis issue.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4, 7-8 and 10 are allowable over the prior art of record.
Claims 11-13 and 17-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Applicant has amended claims 1 and 11 to incorporate the allowable subject matter indicated in the Non-Final Rejection dated 11/26/2025, thereby overcoming the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ventura US 6024348, Qian US 5964524, Massa US 3803872 and Livingston US 2007/0022950 disclose other known stands presented to the Applicant for their consideration.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER E GARFT whose telephone number is (571)270-1171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..
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/CHRISTOPHER GARFT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632