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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating
obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nunnery US 2018/0163361 in view of Calder US 2003/0201269. Nunnery discloses a compression molded, thermoset composite manhole cover having a top, bottom and a plurality of electronic components (10, 12, 30-38). See [0018-0023]. What Nunnery
does not disclose is mounting the electronics to the bottom of the manhole cover. However, Calder teaches a manhole cover (14) comprising:
A plurality of ribs radiating from a central annular wall forming an opening (24).
A plurality of fastener holes molded into the bottom of the manhole cover.
A plurality of fasteners (36) disposed within the fastener holes and configured to attach a mechanism (32) to the bottom of the manhole cover. See Fig. 1; [0015-0020].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the manhole cover of Nunnery with the reinforcing ribs and molded fasteners, as taught by Calder in order to accommodate replacement and/or additional sensors exposed to the interior of the manhole.
Although Nunnery in view of Calder do not disclose a U-bracket, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, that by providing at least two fasteners (36) the manhole could accommodate a U-bracket.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND W ADDIE whose telephone number is (571)272-6986. The examiner can normally be reached on m-f 7:30-12:30, then 6-9pm.
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are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chris Sebesta can be reached on 571-272-0547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you need help from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RAYMOND W ADDIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 01/20/2026
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