The present application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
EX PARTE QUAYLE
This application is in condition for allowance except for the following formal matters:
Restriction Election
Applicant’s response filed on 04 May 2026 and the election without traverse of the design designated as group 1 is acknowledged.
The remaining groups have been withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner The drawings and figure descriptions for the non-elected embodiment have been canceled by applicant.
Claim Objection:
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because in Figs. 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, the segments within the broken lines on the frame’s rear have merged creating the appearance of a solid line. Note the examples of this issue in the drawings below. Consider amending the drawings to ensure the breaks in the broken lines are visible.
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514
364
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284
364
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911
590
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Corrected drawing sheets are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application.
Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as “Replacement Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d).
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. If all the figures on a drawing sheet are canceled, a replacement sheet is not required. A marked-up copy of the drawing sheet (labeled as “Annotated Sheet”) including an annotation showing that all the figures on that drawing sheet have been canceled must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change to the drawings.
When preparing new drawings in compliance with the requirement therefore, care must be exercised to avoid introduction of anything which could be construed to be new matter prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121.
Specification
The specification is objected to because the figure descriptions do not describe the views in the drawings. The figure descriptions should be amended to read as follows:
1.1 : Perspective view
1.2 : Perspective view
1.3 : Front view
1.4 : Right view
1.5 : Back view
1.6 : Left view
1.7 : Top view
1.8 : Bottom View
Claim Rejection--35 USC § 112(b)
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention.
The claim is indefinite because the specification states the break lines indicate indeterminate dimensions. Describing any part of the claim as indeterminate is indefinite on its face. Consider amending the statement to read similarly to the following:
--The break lines symbolize breaks in the length of the article in which the claimed design is embodied. The appearance of any portion of the article between the break lines forms no part of the claimed design.--
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected for the reasons set forth above. The references cited but not applied, are considered cumulative art related to the claimed design.
Reply Reminder
Applicant is reminded that any reply to this Refusal must be signed either by a patent practitioner (i.e., a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office) or by the applicant. If the applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
Discussion of the Merits of the Application
All discussions between the applicant and the examiner regarding the merits of a pending application will be considered an interview and are to be made of record. See MPEP 713. The examiner will not discuss the merits of the application with applicant’s representative if the representative is not registered to practice before the USPTO. Appointment as applicant’s representative before the International Bureau pursuant to Rule 3 of the Common Regulations under the Hague Agreement does NOT entitle such representative to represent the applicant before the USPTO. Furthermore, an applicant that is a juristic entity must be represented by a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Additional information regarding interviews is set forth below.
Telephonic or in person interviews: A telephonic or in person interview may only be conducted with an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO (“registered practitioner”) or with a pro se applicant (an applicant who is the inventor and who is not represented by a registered practitioner).
The registered practitioner may either be of record or not of record. To become “of record”, a power of attorney (POA) in accordance with 37 CFR 1.32 must be filed in the application. Form PTO/AIA /80 “Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO”, available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012, may be used for this purpose. See MPEP 402.02(a) for further information. Interviews may also be conducted with a registered practitioner not of record provided the registered practitioner can show authorization to conduct an interview by completing, signing and filing an “Applicant Initiated Interview Request Form” (PTOL-413A) (available at the USPTO web page indicated above). See MPEP 405. For acceptable ways to submit forms to the USPTO, see “When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence” below.
Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence
The USPTO transacts business in writing. All replies must be signed in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33(b). Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.33(b)(3), a reply submitted on behalf of a juristic applicant must be signed by an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Applicants may submit replies to Office actions only by:
Online via the SPTO's Electronic Filing System‐Web (EFS‐Web) (Registered eFilers only) https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply
Mail: commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313‐1450
Facsimile to the USPTO's Official Fax Number (571‐273‐8300)
Hand‐carry to SPTO's Alexandria, Virginia Customer Service Windowhttps://www.uspto.gov/patents/maintain/responding-office-actions
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLARE ANN GANNON whose telephone number is (571)270-0212. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm EST. To act on behalf of the applicant in most situations, a properly executed power of attorney must be present in the application file. See MPEP 402.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, George Bugg can be reached on (571) 272-2998. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/status/private_pair/index.jsp.
For questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CLARE ANN GANNON/Examiner, Art Unit 2911
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