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Claims 1-8 and 20 were withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/20/25.
Claims 1-8 and 20 are now cancelled.
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.
Claim 22 is 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 22 recites a radially extending surface with a threaded peripheral surface located upon a first axial side of the radially extending surface and each detent surface located upon a second axial side of the radially extending surface. As seen in the figures the threaded peripheral surface extends from the radially extending surface but is not located upon an axial side of the radially extending surface. Therefore, the recitation of the threaded peripheral surface including threads located upon a first axial side of the radially extending surface is a recitation of new matter as the specification as originally filed does not provide support for the claim limitation.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 9-14 and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Taylor US 4,915,831.
Claim 9, Taylor teaches a filter component comprising: a filter connector piece (48) defining a center axis extending between a first axial connector end and a second axial connector end, the first axial connector end including a threaded peripheral surface including threads (50, 52) thereon, a radially extending surface, an axially extending surface, and a plurality of detent clips (86, 88) attached to the axially extending surface and the plurality of detent clips including a detent surface extending linearly in an axial direction, and contoured radially so as to form a radially projecting engagement bump, spaced in a radial direction from the threaded peripheral surface and a retention pocket circumferentially adjacent to the radially projecting engagement bump (fig. 1).
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Claims 10-14, 16-18, Taylor further teaches the first axial connector end has formed therein a central opening (63) centered on the center axis and at least one radially outward opening (72, 74) (fig. 1a); a filter medium (47) is positioned in a filter housing (46) and fluidly between the central opening and the radially outward openings, the filter component being part of a filter cartridge (14) (fig. 1a); the threaded peripheral surface includes an outer peripheral surface, and each detent surface is contoured so as to from the radially projecting engagement bump projecting in a radially outward direction (fig. 1); the threads include multi-start external threads (fig. 1); a number of the plurality of detent clips is an integer multiple of two and the plurality of detent clips are equiangularly spaced around the center axis (fig. 1); the plurality of detent clips are attached to both the radially extending surface and the axially extending surface, and are offset in the axial direction form the threads (fig. 1); each respective pocket is formed at least in part by a concave section of the detent surface (fig. 1); and each of the detent surfaces is contoured radially so as to form a second radially projecting engagement bump positioned in opposition to the first radially projecting engagement bump, and the first radially projecting engagement bump and the second radially projecting engagement bump defining an opening to the pocket therebetween (fig. 1).
Claim 22, Taylor teaches a filter component comprising: a filter connector piece (48) defining a center axis extending between a first axial connector end and a second axial connector end, the first axial connector end including a radially extending surface, a threaded peripheral surface including threads (50, 52) located upon a first axial side, the upper axial side of the radially extending surface, of the radially extending surface, and axially extending surface, and a plurality of detent clips attached to the radially extending surface and the plurality of detent clips each including a detent surface located upon a second axial side of the radially extending surface (the second axial side being the bottom surface of the detent clip), each detent surface extending linearly in an axial direction, and contoured radially so as to form a radially projecting engagement bump and a retention pocket circumferentially adjacent to the radially projecting engagement bump (fig. 1, above and below).
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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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taylor US 4,915,831.
Claim 15, Taylor further teaches the threads define a total of two thread start locations but does not teach four detent clips. The recitation of four clips is a recitation of providing more clips than the two taught by Taylor. Mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced, In re Harza, 124 USPQ 378 (1960). The recitation of providing two of the detent clips offset in a circumferential direction approximately 45 degrees from each of the two thread start locations is a recitation of a rearrangement of the parts taught by Taylor. Shifting the position of an element is unpatentable if shifting the position of the element would not modify the operation of the device, In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (1950).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/27/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Taylor does not teach a radially projecting engagement bump. The bumps in Taylor are the straight edges that form the detent clip (88) that extend radially either from the outer peripheral surface or from the curved inner portion of the detent clip. Merriam-Webster defines a bump as “a relatively abrupt convexity or protuberance on a surface”. The straight edges are considered a “bump” as they represent an abrupt convexity or protuberance that extends from the bottom surface of the detent clip.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 19 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:
The closest prior art to Taylor teaches the filter component of claim 18 wherein each of the detent clips defines a C-shape but does not teach the C-shape opens in a circumferential direction nor would it have been obvious to modify the prior art to arrive at the claimed invention.
Claim 21 is allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claim 21 recites the limitations of previous claim 19 and all intervening claims and is allowable for the same reasons as claim 19 above.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN M KURTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-8211. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bobby Ramdhanie can be reached at 571-270-3240. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BENJAMIN M KURTZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779
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