DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office Action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/25/2026 has been entered.
This communication is a Non-Final rejection Office Action on the merits. Claim 1 has been amended and claim(s) 16-21 have been added. Claims 1-21 are now pending and have been considered below.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 is allowed. In particular, the limitations regarding “an anchor section with a longitudinal axis and a width axis disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and a depth axis disposed perpendicular to both the longitudinal axis and the width axis” and “the at least three layers of sheet metal are connected along a plurality of bends along the longitudinal axis that have exterior angles that are substantially greater than 90 degrees, comprising a first bend between the first layer and the second layer and a second bend between the second layer and the third layer, with the first bend bending the second layer back on the first layer, and the third bend bending the third layer back on the second layer” when considered in combination with the structural elements recited in the base and intervening claims, defines a configuration that is neither taught nor rendered obvious by the prior art of record. No reference, either alone or in combination, discloses or suggests this specific arrangement without relying on hindsight reconstruction. Claim(s) 2-20 depend from claim 1, and are therefore allowed as well.
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 of this title, 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(s) 21, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colonias et al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,995,206).
Regarding claim 21, Colonias et al. teaches a bent column shoe connection (abstract) between a post (4) and a concrete block (3) made with a bent column shoe (1) formed from one piece of sheet metal (abstract) with a material thickness (thickness of the sheet metal; figures 2-3), the sheet metal having a first side and a second side (opposing sides of the sheet; figure 2), the bent column shoe comprising: an anchor section (at 8) with a longitudinal axis and a width axis (x and y axes; figure 2), wherein the anchor section has a first end (at 30) and a second end (at 14), a supporting section (at 16/17) with a first supporting end (bottom end of 16/17) and a second supporting end (top end of 16/17), wherein the first supporting end is in extension of the second end of the anchor section (figure 2), a support section (at 1) with a support face (18/19), arranged substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the anchor section (figure 2), and wherein the support section is arranged in extension of the supporting section (figure 2), and at least one fastening face (inner face of 21; figure 2) arranged substantially perpendicular to the support face (figure 2), and wherein the anchor section, the supporting section, the support section and the at least one fastening face are of one and the same piece of sheet metal (figure 2), characterized in that the anchor section, measured along the width axis, comprises at least three layers of the sheet metal (10, 6, 7, 11, 36, 38) arranged to provide at least three times the material thickness relative to the support section measured along the longitudinal axis (figure 1) and the anchor section measured along the width axis is substantially narrower than the bent column shoe measured along the width axis (figure 1) and the at least three layers of sheet metal are connected along bends along the longitudinal axis that are greater than 90 degrees (as illustrated, the at least three layers of sheet metal are connected along bends along the longitudinal axis that are greater than 90 degrees; depending on the reference direction, the bends can equivalently be expressed as being greater than 90 degrees when measured from the opposite side or the supplemental exterior angles); wherein - the anchor section is at least partially embedded in the concrete block with the support section (figure 6) and the at least one fastening face is disposed above a surface of the concrete block (figure 6), and the post stands on the support face and is attached to the at least one fastening face (figure 1).
With regards to the limitation that the product is “manufactured from one and the same piece of sheet metal”, etc., the examiner would like to point out that these limitations are drawn to the method or process of forming the product. Therefore, since this claim is an apparatus claim, the prior art only needs to show the final product. Thus, since Colonias et al. teaches all of the structural limitations of the claim, the claim stands rejected. See MPEP 2113.
Colonias et al. does not specifically disclose a circular cross-sectional shadow area of the anchor section is 10mm - 50mm, or 12.5mm - 40mm or 15mm - 30mm.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to contrive any number of desirable ranges wherein a circular cross-sectional shadow area of the anchor section is 10mm - 50mm, or 12.5mm - 40mm or 15mm - 30mm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. Further, it has been held that by discovering an optimum value of a result, the effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). Refer to MPEP § 2144.05. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to contrive any number of desirable ranges wherein a circular cross-sectional shadow area of the anchor section is 10mm - 50mm, or 12.5mm - 40mm or 15mm - 30mm, in order to provide an optimal surface area for anchoring the member in the concrete to withstand greater forces or loads depending on the design of the intended application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendments to claim 1 have been considered and overcome the previous claim rejection in view of Colonias et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR F HIJAZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5790. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-6 EST Monday-Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Mattei can be reached on (571) 270-3238. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OMAR F HIJAZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3633
