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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-20 remain in the application as withdrawn.
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, 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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Childs (US 6,843,627) in view of Nakamura (US 5,810,533). Childs discloses a torque limiting fastener with a reverse thread protector comprising: a threaded component (152); a tool interface (170) with in internal bore (172) to receive a cylindrical main body (158) of the threaded component; a washer (120) with an annular sidewall (read as its upper surface); the threaded component, tool interface and washer are a unitized assembly (Figs. 6) having a torque-limiting assembly (177, with 162/164) and a reverse thread protector. The reverse thread protector comprising a first part formed as a plurality of male nibs (178) on the tool interface and a second part formed as a plurality divots (128) on the washer annual sidewall receiving the nibs to inhibit reverse threading. The divots include a pair of asymmetrical ramps with one ramp parallel with a direction of the male component. Childs does not disclose the threaded component having a cylindrical main body with internal threads but instead discloses it with externally threaded shaft. Nakamura discloses a fastener for securing a sawblade similar to Childs and teaches the fastener (10) can comprise a threaded component (11) having a cylindrical main body with internal threads (23; Figs. 1-2) as an alternative to the threaded component having a shaft with external threads (41; Fig. 4). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the fastener Childs with an internally threaded bore instead of the externally threaded shaft as taught in Nakamura because Nakamura teaches them as alternatives in the same field of endeavor for yielding the same results.
Conclusion
Applicant’s remarks have been considered but are moot as a result of the new grounds of rejection.
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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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675