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 . This action is in response to Application #19/354,197 filed on 09 October 2025.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2014/0338243 to La Vigne.
Regarding Claim 1, La Vigne discloses a handgun comprising:
a barrel, a firing mechanism, firing pin, a trigger assembly (figs. 5-12),
a slide assembly including a slide (figs. 5-12),
a slide stop mechanism (figs. 1-4d), and
a frame (figs. 5-12),
wherein the slide stop mechanism includes first and second levers configured to be actuated ambidextrously, wherein first and second levers further include an interface between first and second levers (figs. 1-4d); and wherein
the slide stop mechanism interface is configured to operatively interlock the first and second slide stop mechanism levers such that actuation of one actuates the other (figs. 1-4d, at least paragraph 3), and
the slide stop mechanism interface is a clearance-adjustable interface configured to facilitate adjustment therewithin of a clearance between the first and second slide stop mechanism levers (see fig.13a, adjustable via spring tension and element 56; see fig.1, adjustable via spring tension pushing element 16).
Regarding Claim 2, La Vigne discloses one of the levers includes a projecting region that projects towards the other lever (44), and the mechanism includes a slide stop biasing mechanism configured to bias the mechanism to selectively permit full actuation of the slide between an open configuration and a closed configuration (biasing mechanisms 12/40, the parts of the lever that protrude outward from the frame to allow a user to bias the lever up/locking or down/unlocking).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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. Please see attached PTO-892 for pertinent art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN D COOPER whose telephone number is (571)270-3998. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:30 - 4:30 MST.
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/JOHN COOPER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641