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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendment dated 02/25/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
The claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1.
In line 6, “the direction” should be “a direction”
Line 7 refers to “the abutment” which isn’t actually introduced until line 13.
In line 22, “the radial direction” should be “a radial direction”.
Regarding Claim 2.
Lines 3-4 repeat limitations now in claim 1.
Regarding Claim 5.
Claim 5 appears to repeat limitations now in claim 1.
Regarding claim 6.
In line 4, “the insertion plate” should be “the at least one insertion plate”.
Regarding claim 7.
Recitations of “the insertion plate” should be “the at least one insertion plate”.
Regarding claim 16.
In line 10, “the direction” should be “a direction”
In line 22, “the radial direction” should be “a radial direction”.
Regarding claim 18.
In line 6, “the direction” should be “a direction”
Lines 7-9 refers to “the abutment” twice, which isn’t actually introduced until line 16.
In line 25, “the radial direction” should be “a radial direction”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pat. 10,563,370 – Savinkoff et al., hereinafter Savinkoff.
Regarding claim 16.
Savinkoff discloses a connecting component (10, fig 1) for connecting different scaffolding systems (Examiner notes that this is intended use, and that the component of Savinkoff is capable of performing the intended use.), comprising:
at least one first connection region (20, fig 1) which is provided for connection to a first scaffolding system (12, fig 5) and which has a shaft (30, fig 1) which extends along a longitudinal axis (See fig 1), wherein the first scaffolding system includes a vertical post of a frame scaffolding or system scaffolding (Examiner notes that this is intended use, and that the component of Savinkoff is capable of performing the intended use.), and
an attachment region (22, fig 1) which is provided for connection to a second scaffolding system (14, fig 1), wherein the second scaffolding system includes a horizontal support, the horizontal support comprising two support rails that are spaced apart and oriented parallel to one another (Examiner notes that this is intended use, and that the component of Savinkoff is capable of performing the intended use.), wherein the first connection region and the attachment region are arranged adjacent to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis (See fig 1) and the first connection region, at least on its side pointing away from the attachment region in its interior in the shaft, has a receptacle (at 31, fig 1) which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis (See fig 1),
and wherein the attachment region adjacent to the first connection region has an abutment (32, fig 1) which extends in a direction essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (See fig 1) and the abutment in the direction essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis has the longest total dimension of the attachment region in the direction essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (See fig 1),
and the attachment region also has an insertion region (including 50 and 52, fig 1) extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis (See fig 1) and adjoining the abutment on the side thereof facing away from the first connection region in the direction of the longitudinal axis (See fig 1),
wherein the insertion region has at least one first insertion interface, which comprises two first abutment surfaces (90, fig 3) oriented parallel to one another (See fig 3) and/or symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis (See fig 1) and are arranged in the radial direction to the longitudinal axis on the outside of the insertion region (See fig 1) and are oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis (See fig 1), wherein the two first abutment surfaces face away from each other to define outermost surfaces of the insertion region (See fig 1) and are arranged on its outer circumference (See fig 1) and the first insertion interface comprises at least one securing recess (100, fig 1) that penetrates the entire insertion region (See fig 2) and extends essentially at a right angle to the two first abutment surfaces (See figs 1 and 2),
wherein the abutment projects in a first dimension in a first direction radial to the longitudinal axis, and a second dimension in a second direction radially to the longitudinal axis (See fig 2), wherein the first dimension is longer than the second dimension and the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction. (See fig 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15, and 18 are allowed.
Claim 17 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claimed features of independent claims 1 and 18 are not found together in the prior art and it would be the result impermissible hindsight reconstruction to use the teachings of the prior art to arrive at the applicant’s claimed invention.
Specifically, the features of “at least one first connection region which is configured for connection to a first scaffolding system and which has a shaft which extends along a longitudinal axis, and at least one second connection region configured for connection to the first scaffolding system, the at least one second connection region being arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis on the side of the abutment opposite the first connection region, the second connection region being arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis on the side of the abutment opposite the first connection region, the second connection region having a receptacle which extends along the longitudinal axis;
an attachment region which is provided for connection to a second scaffolding system, wherein the first connection region and the attachment region are arranged adjacent to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis and the first connection region, on its side pointing away from the attachment region in its interior in the shaft, has a receptacle which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis,” together with the other features of independent claims 1 and 18 are not found together in the prior art, and it would be the result impermissible hindsight reconstruction to use the teachings of the prior art to arrive at the applicant’s claimed invention.
US Pat. 10,563,370 – Savinkoff fails to disclose “at least one first connection region which is configured for connection to a first scaffolding system and which has a shaft which extends along a longitudinal axis, and at least one second connection region configured for connection to the first scaffolding system, the at least one second connection region being arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis on the side of the abutment opposite the first connection region, the second connection region being arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis on the side of the abutment opposite the first connection region, the second connection region having a receptacle which extends along the longitudinal axis;
an attachment region which is provided for connection to a second scaffolding system, wherein the first connection region and the attachment region are arranged adjacent to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis and the first connection region, on its side pointing away from the attachment region in its interior in the shaft, has a receptacle which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis,” together with the other features of independent claims 1 and 18 are not found together in the prior art, and applicant’s arguments dated 02/25/2026 are persuasive that it would be the result impermissible hindsight reconstruction modify Savinkoff to arrive at the applicant’s claimed invention.
Claims 2-15 are at least rejected for depending from rejected claim 1. Dependent claims contain all limitations of the claims from which they depend, and therefore inherit their clarity issues.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with regard to claim 16 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the connector of Savinkoff is not suitable for use as a scaffolding connector, a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/J.W.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/DANIEL P CAHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634
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