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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group I, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/20/2026.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: reference characters "110" and "156" have both been used to designate the gib clamp assembly (see par 0045).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 18-20 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.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the boom" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Moreover, it is unclear if “the boom” in line 6 is meant to refer to “the boom clamp attachment” or to yet another boom.
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected as a result of their dependency from claim 18.
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) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 5,127,791 to Attman (“Attman”) in view of U.S. Patent No. 11,193,287 to Tan (“Tan”).
Regarding claim 18, Attman discloses a method of using a boom clamp attachment 32 for maneuvering a section of panels 20, the method comprising: assembling a panel section 20 at ground level (col 6, ln 46-54), the panel section comprising a plurality of I-beams 24; placing the boom clamp attachment 32 comprising a gib frame 38 extending longitudinally in relation to a boom 34 and a shaft arm axle 84 via a telescopic handler 14, and rotating the panel section 20 via rotation of the shaft arm axle of the boom clamp attachment longitudinally in relation to the gib frame (see Figs. 5, 9, 10, and 14). Attman does not disclose a plurality of gib clamp assemblies beneath the assembled panel section wherein each gib clamp assembly aligns, respectively, with an I-beam of the plurality of I-beams, each gib clamp assembly comprising a clamping mechanism; clamping each I-beam, respectively, and using the clamping mechanism of each respective gib clamp assembly.
Tan discloses a method of using a boom clamp attachment (Tan, 700) comprising a plurality of gib clamp assemblies (Tan 717a-717d; col 14, ln 14-18 discloses mechanical attachment may be clamps) beneath an assembled panel section wherein each gib clamp assembly aligns, respectively, with a protrusion (Tan 724), each gib clamp assembly comprising a clamping mechanism (Tan; ln 14-18 discloses clamps) clamping each I-beam, respectively, using the clamping mechanism of each respective gib clamp assembly.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the boom clamp assembly of Attman to have a plurality of gib clamp assemblies beneath the assembled panel section wherein each gib clamp assembly aligns, respectively, with a protrusion, such as Attman’s I-beams, each gib clamp assembly comprising a clamping mechanism; clamping each protrusion/I-beam, respectively, and using the clamping mechanism of each respective gib clamp assembly as taught in Tan with a reasonable expectation of success because it would a predictably securely hold a panel in place during movement of a crane.
Regarding claim 19, Attman in view of Tan discloses that the panel section 20 is assembled using one or more holding brackets 26, 28.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art, alone or in obvious combination absent hindsight, discloses applicant’s invention of a method of using a boom clamp attachment wherein the holding brackets comprise a spring to position the holding brackets. There is absent a teaching for having springs in Attman’s holding brackets 26, 28 used to assemble panel section 20. While prior art of Bolton (US4671724) discloses springs (Bolton, Figs. 14 and 15) in a holding bracket to help secure beams while hoisted by a crane’s boom during construction, Bolton’s holding bracket is not used for assembling a panel section, but merely to transport stacked beams. There is absent motivation to include springs in Attman’s bracket 26, 28 as doing so would inhibit transfer of load from the beams of the panels to an underlying supporting structure.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE T CAJILIG whose telephone number is (571)272-8143. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/CHRISTINE T CAJILIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633