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 .
Title
In the title of the invention, after “Stern Plug For”, “Insert” should be changed to – Inserting – for proper grammatical form.
Applicant is requested to make appropriate correction.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following must be shown and identified with proper reference numbers, or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s).
open base (claim 1)
closed second base (claim 1)
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” 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. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 1 sets forth a stern plug that is open at one base and comprises a closed second base. However, the specification and the drawings each fails to properly identify any open base or a closed base, or sufficiently disclose their respective structure.
Therefore, in absence of adequate guidance in the disclosure, a person skilled in the art would not be able to make and/or use the claimed invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 1 (line 3), the limitation “a hollow volume that is open at one base and comprises a closed second base” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. Because the disclosure does not adequately identify or adequately describe the “one base” and the “closed second base”, it is not sufficiently clear what such structures are. Did the applicant intend to use the word “face” instead of “base”? Applicant is requested to provide a clarification and/or appropriate correction to the claims as well as the specification.
In claim 1 (line 4), the limitation “closed base” renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear if such closed base is same or different from the “closed second base” (emphasis added) as previously set forth on line 3 of the claim.
In claim 1 (line 5), the limitation “lateral surface is made in a form of shelves, where an upper shelf is made straight … where a lower shelf of the bottom is made straight” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear if the “upper shelf” and the “lower shelf” are a part of, or different from, the shelves (plural).
In claim 1 (line 8), the limitation “a lower shelf of the bottom” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear if such bottom is referring to the bottom of the boat or a bottom of the stern plug. Did the applicant intend this limitation to be “a lower shelf of a bottom of the plug”?
In claim 2, the limitation “wherein it is made of a polyurethane” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear what does “it” refer to.
In claim 3, the limitation “wherein it is made of an ethylene vinyl acetate” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear what does “it” refer to.
In claim 4, the limitation “the plate-shaped guides … are mounted on the bottom” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is not sufficiently clear if such bottom is referring to the bottom of the boat or a bottom of the stern plug.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 would be favorably considered for allowance if rewritten or amended, without narrowing the scope of the claim, to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
RU-177430 shows a plug for a stern of an inflatable boat, comprising a hollow volume and a lateral surface arranged along an outer contour
Davidson (US 4892054) shows a stern plug comprising a hollow volume with a grid structure
RU-2834118, GB-1350208, RU-190761 each shows an inflatable boat with inserts to provide rigidity to a bottom of the boat
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/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615