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 .
Drawings
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: bolt 43, mentioned in [0037]. 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “42” has been used to designate both bolt 42 and cam 42 (see Fig. 1). 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.
The drawings are objected to because some lead lines in Figs. 11 and 12 are spaced from the figure, making it difficult to determine which elements are being identified by the lead lines. 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 Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: “configure to” should read --configured to--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 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 written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 includes the limitation “a trigger element disposed between said first lever arm and said second lever arm along a pivot axis;” and claim 5 includes the limitation “providing a trigger element disposed between said first lever arm and said second lever arm along said pivot axis;”. Claim 1 also requires the limitation “a bolt connecting said first lever arm, said second lever arm, said torsion spring, and said trigger element about said pivot axis;” and claim 5 requires the limitation “connecting said first lever arm, said second lever arm, said torsion spring, and said trigger element about said pivot axis with a bolt”. As can be seen in the dashed line in the figure below, it is clear that the pivot axis of the trigger 8 cannot be the same as the trigger axis along which the bolt 42 of Fig. 1 (see drawing objection) is positioned. Therefore, there is no support in the original disclosure for the bolt connecting the first lever arm, the second lever arm, the torsion spring and the trigger element about the pivot axis, as the trigger pivots about and is along a different axis (the dashed line in the above figure).
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The specification mentions “[t]he first lever arm 4 has a first connector 36 which connects to the second connector 38 of the second lever arm 6 via the bolt 43 [and the] trigger element 8 is similarly connected to the first lever arm 4 and second lever arm 6 via the bolt 43.
Claim 2 includes the limitations “said first lever arm comprising a first set of interlocking wire grips;” and “said second lever arm comprising a second set of interlocking wire grips;”. Claim 6 includes the limitations “providing a first set of interlocking wire grips within said first lever arm;” and “providing a second set of interlocking wire grips within said second lever arm;”. [0044] of the specification states “The first lever arm 4 and second lever arm 6 have a first wire grip portion 20 and a second wire grip portion 22, respectively. As shown in Fig. 2, these wire grip portions 20, 22 interlock to allow the clamp 2 to clamp down onto wires of varying diameters.” In other words, there is a single set of wire grips, 20 with 22, which can interlock. As claimed, however, each of the lever arms has a set of interlocking wire grips. There is no support, in the original disclosure, for this claimed structural arrangement.
The specification utilizes the same terminology, without further clarifying what this term means. Since it is unclear what structure corresponds to this terminology, the scope of the claim is unclear.
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites “said pair of shotgun loops configured to received electrical components”. The specification does not describe how electrical components can be received. [0045] states “[a] pair of shotgun loops 10 are connected to the clamp which can be used to grab and gather cables or wires”, without providing any detail regarding how the loops effect this function.
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.
Claim 4 is 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.
The claim uses the term “shotgun loops”. The specification utilizes the same terminology, without further clarifying what this term means. Since it is unclear what structure corresponds to this terminology, the scope of the claim is unclear.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Luo (CN2507612Y).
Luo discloses the claimed invention as follows:
Claim 1. A clamp system comprising:
a first lever arm (12 with 15, Fig. 2) comprising an elongated curvilinear arm forming a first lower handle (120, Fig. 2) and a first upper jaw (121 with 122, Fig. 2), said first lever arm further comprising a toothed portion (153, Fig. 6);
a second lever arm (11, Fig. 2) comprising an elongated curvilinear arm forming a second lower handle (110, Fig. 2) and a second upper jaw (111 with 112, Fig. 2);
a torsion spring (14, Figs. 2 and 4) comprising a first leg positioned against an inner surface of said first lever arm and a second leg positioned against an inner surface of said second lever arm (it is understood spring 14 functions the same as spring 3 of Fig. 1) such that said torsion spring provides a bias force against each of said first and second lever arms, thereby forcing the first upper jaw and the second upper jaw apart (see Fig. 2 and [0020]);
said first lever arm, said second lever arm, and said torsion spring configured to be transformed between a first, open orientation (as in Fig. 3) based upon the bias force of said torsion spring and a second, closed orientation (as in Fig. 5) whereby both of said first and second lower handles of said first and second lever arms are depressed towards one another (see [0027]);
a trigger element (13 with 16; see Figs. 2 and 4) disposed between said first lever arm and said second lever arm along a pivot axis;
a bolt (see not-numbered bolt at upper end of the axis line passing through 113, in Fig. 2; in Fig. 4 the bolt head is visible) connecting said first lever arm, said second lever arm, said torsion spring, and said trigger element about said pivot axis;
said trigger element comprising a cam (131, Fig. 6) and a trigger spring (16, Fig. 4);
said trigger spring biased to pull said cam toward said toothed portion of said first lever arm (as in Fig. 4), wherein said toothed portion comprises a plurality of toothed receivers each configured to receive said cam of said trigger element, whereby said cam and said toothed portion lock said first lever arm and said second lever arm in place about said pivot axis (as in Fig. 4); and
whereby depressing said trigger element releases said cam, unlocking said first lever arm and said second lever arm about said pivot axis (as in Fig. 6; see [0027]).
Claim 2. The clamp system of claim 1, further comprising:
said first lever arm comprising a first set of interlocking wire grips (122, Fig. 2; see rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a));
said second lever arm comprising a second set of interlocking wire grips (112, Fig. 2; see rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a)); and
said first set of interlocking wire grips configured to oppose said second set of interlocking wire grips when said first lever arm and said second lever arm are in said second, closed orientation such that said first and second sets of interlocking wire grips are configured to grip onto wires having varying diameters. Clearly, the clamp can be used to grip wires of different diameters, depending on how close together the grips 112 and 122 are brought by the force applied to the handles.
Claim 3. The clamp system of claim 1, wherein said clamp is configured to grip a blanket about an electrical wire. The clamp is capable of being used for this purpose.
Claim 5. A method of securing a blanket about an electrical wire (note that claim 1 does not actually require securing a blanket about a wire), the method comprising the steps:
providing a clamp comprising a first lever arm (12 with 15, Fig. 2) and a second lever arm (11, Fig. 2) connected about a pivot axis;
wherein said first lever arm comprising an elongated curvilinear arm forming a first lower handle (120, Fig. 2) and a first upper jaw (121 with 122, Fig. 2), said first lever arm further comprising a toothed portion (153, Fig. 6);
wherein said second lever arm comprising an elongated curvilinear arm forming a second lower handle (110, Fig. 2) and a second upper jaw (111 with 112, Fig. 2);
providing a torsion spring (14, Figs. 2 and 4) comprising a first leg positioned against an inner surface of said first lever arm and a second leg positioned against an inner surface of said second lever arm (it is understood spring 14 functions the same as spring 3 of Fig. 1) such that said torsion spring provides a bias force against each of said first and second lever arms, thereby forcing the first upper jaw and the second upper jaw apart;
said first lever arm, said second lever arm, and said torsion spring configured to be transformed between a first, open orientation (as shown in Fig. 4) based upon the bias force of said torsion spring and a second, closed orientation (as shown in Fig. 6) whereby both of said first and second lower handles of said first and second lever arms are depressed towards one another;
providing a trigger element (13 with 16, Figs. 2, 4 and 6) disposed between said first lever arm and said second lever arm along said pivot axis;
connecting said first lever arm, said second lever arm, said torsion spring, and said trigger element about said pivot axis with a bolt (see not-numbered bolt at upper end of the axis line passing through 113, in Fig. 2; in Fig. 4 the bolt head is visible; compare Figs. 2 and 3);
wherein said trigger element comprising a cam (131, Fig. 6) and a trigger spring (16, Fig. 6);
wherein said trigger spring is biased to pull said cam toward said toothed portion of said first lever arm (as in Fig. 4);
wherein said toothed portion comprises a plurality of toothed receivers (see Fig. 6) each configured to receive said cam of said trigger element, whereby said cam and said toothed portion are configured to lock said first lever arm and said second lever arm in place about said pivot axis;
depressing said trigger element, thereby releasing said cam and unlocking said first lever arm and said second lever arm about said pivot axis ([0027], penultimate subparagraph); and
releasing said trigger element, thereby biasing said cam toward said toothed portion, thereby locking said first lever arm and said second lever arm ([0027], last subparagraph).
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo.
Regarding claims 1-3 and 5, Luo discloses the claimed invention, as described above. To the extent applicant disagrees the non-numbered fastener is a bolt, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to utilize a bolt as the fastener, as a matter of selecting among known fasteners suitable for this application. It is clear from the figures the fastener is inserted into a hole at the end of the pin 13. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to provide the hole with a thread, corresponding to a thread of a bolt, as a means to securely hold the not-numbered washer (Figs. 2 and 4) against spring 16, thereby also connecting together the first and second lever arms, the torsion spring, and the trigger.
Further, to the extent Applicant disagrees the two wire grips 112 and 122 interlock, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to make the surfaces of the grips complementary to each other, i.e., interlocking, such that when clamping thin objects (e.g., sheet-like), there is a greater surface area of contact with the object being clamped.
Claims 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo in view of Shea (US5168783)
Regarding claim 6, Luo discloses providing a first set of interlocking wire grips (122, Fig. 3; see rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a)) within said first lever arm; providing a second set of interlocking wire grips (112, Fig. 3; see rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a)) within said second lever arm; wherein said first set of interlocking wire grips oppose second set of interlocking wire grips when said first lever arm and said second lever arm are in said second, closed orientation. Luo does not specifically mention gripping wires.
Shea shows it is known to use a locking clamp to temporarily clamp wire rope cables until a permanent clamp can be installed. The tool includes “opposite and matching jaws which have interlocking projections forming a cavity sized and shaped to compliment and accept wire rope cable so that the jaws may be quickly closed and locked around cable lengths to grip the cable lengths temporarily but firmly and in correct alignment until a conventional clamp can be installed.” (see abstract and figures).
In view of the teachings of Shea, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to modify the grips 112 and 122 of Luo to have the shape taught by Shea, such that the clamp of Luo can be used for temporarily clamping wire rope cables, as a specific application for the clamp of Luo, with predictable results.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo in view of APA (admitted prior art).
Luo does not disclose utilizing the clamp to clamp a blanket over an electrical wire. However, it is known to use clamps to clamp a blanket over an electrical wire. APA discloses draping a blanket over an electrical wire and utilizing a clamp to secure the blanket to the wire (see present specification, [0004] and [0005]). From the combined teachings of Luo and APA, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to use the clamp of Luo for the same purpose as the clamp of APA, to secure a blanket over an electrical wire, by depressing said trigger element and closing said clamp onto said blanket and releasing said trigger element, thereby securing said blanket about said electrical wire. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to use the clamp for this purpose, since APA shows it is known to use clamps for such a purpose.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US20040107549A1 discloses locking pliers similar to the clamp of Luo, having a trigger (50).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIVIUS R CAZAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8032. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday noon-8:30 pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sunil K Singh can be reached at 571-272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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S /LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729