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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending in the application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in the European Patent Office (EPO) on 31 January 2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the EPO application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because of the following informalities:
The following figures are objected to for having improper cross-hatching in a cross-sectional view (see 37 CFR 1.84 and MPEP 608.02 for drawing standards, specifically see the chart shown in MPEP 608.02(IX) for proper cross-hatching):
Figs. 7, 12, 13, 21, 28B, and 32B
Fig. 33 is objected to because the figure and its ref. nos. are oriented in a direction different from that of the figure label (see 37 CFR 1.84(p)(1))).
Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. No such petition has been filed or granted and thus the use of photographs is not acceptable. The following drawings are objected to because they are either photographs or they contain excessive shading such that their reproduction in unclear upon publication (see US Patent Application Publication 2023/0243380):
Figs. 33-36C
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
The “location 42” on the female projection 40 that is furthest away from the central axis A (see parag. [0088] of the original disclosure)
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. 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.
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 § 102
(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.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-10, 12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Glenn (US Patent 6,932,227).
Re Claim 1: Glenn discloses a fastener (at 122; see Figs. 1-2) comprising:
a female pin (122; see Figs. 4-5) comprising
a first annular wall (126) comprising a first end and a second end (see annotated Fig. 4 below);
at least one female arm (at 135, 136; Fig. 4) extending from the first end of the first annular wall, the female arm comprising a proximal end (see annotated Fig. 4 below), a distal end (at 123, 125), a female arm outer surface (co-planar with body portion 126), and a female projection (128) at the distal end that extends from the female arm outer surface; and
a ledge (132) at the second end of the first annular wall;
a male pin (114) comprising
a second annular wall (118) comprising a first end, a second end (see annotated Fig. 9A below), and an outer diameter (see “OD118” in annotated Fig. 9A below);
at least one male arm (119) extending from the first end of the second annular wall, the male arm comprising a proximal end (see annotated Fig. 9A), a distal end (at 119; Fig .9A), a male arm outer surface (for example, at groove 120), and a male projection (119a) at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface; and
an annular projection (116) at the second end of the second annular wall, the annular projection having an outer annular diameter (see “OD116” in annotated Fig. 9A below) that is greater than the outer diameter (see “OD118” below) of the second annular wall;
the male pin (114) extending through the first annular wall of the female pin (122), such that the male projection contacts the ledge (see Fig. 10).
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Re Claim 2: Glenn discloses a fastener, wherein the female pin (122) comprises at least two of the female arms (at 133, 135) extending from the first end of the first annular wall (see annotated Fig. 4 above), and at least two of the female arms comprise the female projection (128) at the distal end that extends from the female arm outer surface
Re Claim 4: Glenn discloses a fastener, wherein the annular projection (116) has an inner surface (117) and an outer surface (the left-most surface in Fig. 9A, opposite 117), and the distal end (123, 125) of each female arm contacts the inner surface (117) of the annular projection (see Fig. 10).
Re Claim 5: Glenn discloses a fastener, wherein each male projection (119a) has a projection height (see “H” in 1st annotated enlarged portion of Fig. 10 below); and the ledge (132) has a width (see “W” in 1st annotated enlarged portion of Fig. 10 below) that is equal to, or greater than, the projection height.
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Re Claim 6: Glenn discloses a fastener, wherein the male pin (114) has an outer male projection diameter (see “OD” in annotated 2nd enlarged portion of Fig. 10 below) that is greater than an inner diameter (see “ID” in annotated 2nd enlarged portion of Fig. 10 below) of the first annular wall.
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Re Claim 8: Glenn discloses an expandable barrier comprising
a plurality of the fasteners (122; see Figs. 1-2) of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above);
at least two posts (see annotated Fig. 1 below), each post comprising a post wall and at least two post openings (the openings associated with each sleeve connector 122, 122’) extending through the post wall; and
a plurality of elongate articles (see annotated Fig. 1 below), each elongate article comprising an article wall, a first article opening (the openings associated with a sleeve connector 122 at an end of the article) extending through the article wall at a first end of the elongate article, and a second article opening (the openings associated with a sleeve connector 122 at an opposing end of the article) extending through the article wall at a second end of the elongate article, the elongate articles arranged in a lattice pattern (see Figs. 1) between the two posts such that
each of the first article openings is aligned with one of (a) the post openings or (b) the first article opening of a different elongate article, and one of the fasteners extends therethrough and forms a first rotatable connection; and
each of the second article openings is aligned with one of (a) the post openings or (b) the second article opening of a different elongate article, and one of the fasteners extends therethrough and forms a second rotatable connection.
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Re Claim 9: Glenn discloses an expandable barrier, wherein each post is rotatably connected to at least two elongate articles (see annotated Fig. 1 above).
Re Claim 10: Glenn discloses an expandable barrier, wherein
each elongate article further comprises a third article opening (the openings associated with a sleeve connector 122 at the center of the article) extending through the article wall at a position between the first article opening and the second article opening; and
each third article opening is aligned with the third article opening of a different elongate article, and one of the fasteners extends therethrough and forms a third rotatable connection.
Re Claim 12: Glenn discloses a method of forming a connection between two articles comprising:
providing a female pin (122) comprising
a first annular wall (126) comprising a first end and a second end (see annotated Fig. 4 above);
at least one female arm (at 133, 135) extending from the first end of the first annular wall, the female arm comprising a proximal end (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a distal end (123, 125), a female arm outer surface (coplanar with body 126), and a female projection (128) at the distal end that extends from the female arm outer surface; and
a first ledge (132) positioned at the second end of the first annular wall;
providing a male pin (114) comprising
a second annular wall (118) comprising a first end, a second end, and an outer diameter (see annotated Fig. 9A above);
at least one male arm (119) extending from the first end of the second annular wall, the male arm comprising a proximal end (see annotated Fig. 9A above), a distal end (at 119), a male arm outer surface, and a male projection (119a) at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface; and
an annular projection (116) at the second end of the second annular wall, the annular projection having an outer annular diameter that is greater than the outer diameter of the second annular wall;
providing a first article (see annotated Fig. 1 above) comprising a first wall and a first opening extending through the first wall;
providing a second article (see annotated Fig. 1 above) comprising a second wall and a second opening extending through the second wall, the second wall comprising a second ledge (see annotated Fig. 10 above);
aligning the first opening with the second opening (see Fig. 10);
inserting the female pin (122) through the first opening and the second opening, such that the female projection (128) contacts the second ledge (see annotated Fig. 10 above); and
inserting the male pin (114) through the first annular wall of the female pin (122), such that the male pin extends through the second opening and the first opening, and the male projection contacts the first ledge (see Fig. 10), thereby forming a connection between the first article and the second article.
Re Claim 15: Glenn discloses a method, wherein the step of (G) inserting the male pin (114) through the first annular wall of the female pin (122) comprises forming a rotatable connection between the first article and the second article, whereby the first article and the second article are independently rotatable relative to a central axis of the female pin.
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 3, 7, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Glenn (US Patent 6,932,227), as applied to claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-10, 12, and 15 above, and further in view of Sabounjian (US Patent 6,427,858).
Re Claims 3 and 7: Glenn, as discussed for claim 1 above, discloses a fastener significantly as claimed except wherein the male pin comprises at least two male arms extending from the first end of the second annular wall, and at least two of the male arms comprise the male projection at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface; and the male pin extends through the first annular wall of the female pin, such that each male projection contacts the ledge (as is required by claim 3); and wherein the distal end of each of the at least two male arms is capable of being reversibly displaced towards a central axis of the male pin at a displacement distance that is equal to, or greater than, a projection height of the male projection of each respective male arm (as is required by claim 7).
Sabounjian teaches the use of a fastener (226; see Figs. 24b-28) comprising a female pin (246) comprising a ledge (256); and a male pin (224) comprising at least one male arm (264) having a male projection (166) at a distal end; and further wherein the male pin (244) comprises at least two male arms (264, 264) extending from an end an annular wall (272), and at least two of the male arms (264) comprise the male projection (266) at the distal end that extends from a male arm outer surface; and the male pin (244) extends through an annular wall of the female pin (246), such that each male projection (266) contacts the ledge (256; see Fig. 27); and wherein the distal end of each of the at least two male arms (264) is capable of being reversibly displaced towards a central axis of the male pin at a displacement distance that is equal to, or greater than, a projection height of the male projection (266) of each respective male arm, for the purpose of easily attaching the male and female pins in a secure manner.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Glenn, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that the male pin comprises at least two male arms extending from the first end of the second annular wall, and at least two of the male arms comprise the male projection at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface; and the male pin extends through the first annular wall of the female pin, such that each male projection contacts the ledge (as is required by claim 3); and wherein the distal end of each of the at least two male arms is capable of being reversibly displaced towards a central axis of the male pin at a displacement distance that is equal to, or greater than, a projection height of the male projection of each respective male arm (as is required by claim 7), as taught by Sabounjian, for the purpose of easily attaching the male and female pins in a secure manner.
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Re Claims 13 and 14: Glenn further teaches a method, wherein the female pin (122) comprises at least two of the female arms (at 133, 135; Fig. 4) extending from the first end of the first annular wall (126), and at least two of the female arms comprise the female projection (128) at the distal end that extends from the female arm outer surface; and the step of (F) inserting the female pin through the first opening and the second opening further comprises (i) displacing the distal end (123, 125) of each of the at least two female arms (133, 135) from an original position towards a central axis of the female pin to a displaced position; and (ii) returning the distal end of each of the at least two female arms from the displaced position to the original position, thereby placing each female projection in contact with the second ledge (see annotated Fig. 10 above) (as is required by claim 13).
Glenn fails to disclose wherein the male pin comprises at least two male arms extending from the first end of the second annular wall, and at least two of the male arms comprise the male projection at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface (as is further required by claim 13); and wherein the step of (G) inserting the male pin through the first annular wall of the female pin further comprises (i) displacing the distal end of each of the at least two male arms from an original position towards a central axis of the male pin to a displaced position; and (ii) returning the distal end of each of the at least two male arms from the displaced position to the original position, thereby placing each male projection in contact with the first ledge (as is required by claim 14).
Sabounjian teaches the use of a fastener (226; see Figs. 24b-28) comprising a female pin (246) comprising a first ledge (256); and a male pin (224) comprising at least one male arm (264) having a male projection (166) at a distal end; and further wherein the male pin (244) comprises at least two male arms (264, 264) extending from an end of an annular wall (272), and at least two of the male arms comprise the male projection (166) at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface; and wherein forming a connection between two articles (220, 220) comprises the step of inserting the male pin (244)through an annular wall of the female pin (246) and further comprises (i) displacing the distal end (at 266) of each of the at least two male arms (264) from an original position towards a central axis of the male pin to a displaced position; and (ii) returning the distal end of each of the at least two male arms from the displaced position to the original position, thereby placing each male projection in contact with the first ledge (256; see Fig. 27), for the purpose of easily attaching the male and female pins in a secure manner.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Glenn, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that the male pin comprises at least two male arms extending from the first end of the second annular wall, and at least two of the male arms comprise the male projection at the distal end that extends from the male arm outer surface (as is further required by claim 13); and wherein the step of (G) inserting the male pin through the first annular wall of the female pin further comprises (i) displacing the distal end of each of the at least two male arms from an original position towards a central axis of the male pin to a displaced position; and (ii) returning the distal end of each of the at least two male arms from the displaced position to the original position, thereby placing each male projection in contact with the first ledge (as is required by claim 14), as taught by Sabounjian, for the purpose of easily attaching the male and female pins in a secure manner.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Glenn (US Patent 6,932,227), as applied to claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-10, 12, and 15 above, and further in view of White (US Patent 5, 704, 592).
Re Claim 11: Glenn, as applied to claim 9 above, discloses an expandable barrier significantly as claimed, except wherein the at least two posts are parallel posts extending along a vertical axis, and the at least two posts are movable with respect to each other along an expanding axis that is perpendicular to the vertical axis.
White teaches the use of an expandable barrier (10; see Fig. 1) comprising a plurality of fasteners (32); at least two posts (14, 15); and a plurality of articles (12); and further wherein the at least two posts (14, 15) are parallel posts extending along a vertical axis, and the at least two posts are movable with respect to each other along an expanding axis that is perpendicular to the vertical axis (see Figs. 1-2), for the purpose of forming a horizontally-extendable barrier.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Glenn, with a reasonable expectation of success, such that the at least two posts are parallel posts extending along a vertical axis, and the at least two posts are movable with respect to each other along an expanding axis that is perpendicular to the vertical axis, as taught by White, for the purpose of forming a horizontally-extendable barrier.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW R MCMAHON whose telephone number is (571)270-3067. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at (571) 270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW R MCMAHON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678