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. 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 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. Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(h)(1) because Figure 1 includes an exploded view, on the same page as other views, where the separated parts of the invention are not embraced by a bracket. The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3) because hatching is not used to indicate section portions of an object in a cross-sectional view of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 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. Specification The abstract is objected to because at line 1, “Attachment device” should read --An attachment device--. The abstract is further objected to for being worded like a claim (i.e. a single sentence in the form of a list of limitations), instead of in narrative form. See MPEP 608.01(b). Appropriate correction is required. Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure. A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art. If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives. Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps. Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because at lines 4-5, “an element” should read --a receiving element-- in order to be consistent with the use of “the receiving element” in line 25. Claim 1 is objected to because at line 26, “transverse face” should read --smallest-diameter transverse end face--, as best understood by the Examiner. Claim 10 is objected to because at line 1, “smallest diameter” should read --smallest external diameter--, as best understood by the Examiner. Claim 10 is objected to because at line 3, “mm” should read --millimeter-- in order to be consistent with the use of the term “millimeter” in line 4. 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. Claim s 5, 10, and 12 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 5 recites the broad recitation “ the conical insert has an angle of less than 7 degrees” in line 2 , and the claim also recites “ preferably between one and five degrees” in line 2-3, which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. C laim 10 recites the broad recitation “ the smallest diameter of the conical insert is greater than the smallest internal diameter of the internal ring by a few tenths of a mm” in lines 2-3 , and the claim also recites “ preferably this difference in diameter is between one- and nine-tenths of a millimeter” in lines 3-4, which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. C laim 12 recites the broad recitation “ the circular opening has a diameter greater than the diameter of the smaller diameter transverse face of the conical insert” in lines 2-3 , and the claim also recites “ preferably this diameter difference is between 0.1 mm and 2 mm” in line 4 which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-4, 6-8, and 13-16 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: CN 104879350 ( Wang ; the citations of which are taken from Applicant’s translation provided on June 9, 2023 ) discloses an attachment device (see Figure 1 and annotated Figure 1 below) obtained by joining three components at the end of a tube (7) , comprising: a conical insert (4) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the end of said tube, the conical insert having an element (in the form of a through-hole) for receiving a gripping or attachment member (e.g. 6) , an internal ring (2, 3) provided with a recess (see annotated Figure 1 below) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the center of the tube and the angle of which is equal to or less than the angle of the truncated cone of the conical insert (see Figure 1) , the external wall of said internal ring being cylindrical with a diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of the tube, said insert being located in the recess of said internal ring (see Figure 1) , an external ring (1) comprising a cylindrical portion, the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the external diameter of said tube (see Figure 1) , the internal wall of said cylindrical portion of said external ring being intended to come into contact with the cylindrical external wall of the tube, said external ring comprising a shoulder (see annotated Figure 1 below) which partially closes an end of said external ring and which has a circular opening (see annotated Figure 1 below) , said shoulder comprising an annular internal face (see annotated Figure 1 below) intended to abut the end face of the tube and against the transverse end face of the internal ring located on the side of the end of said tube (see Figure 1) , characterized in that the conical insert and the external ring are sized so that in their assembled position with the internal ring and the tube: either , the circular opening having a sufficient diameter to allow free access to the receiving element and less than the diameter of a smallest-diameter transverse end face (see Figure 1) , or the smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert is in the same plane as the external face of the external ring. Figure 1. Annotated Partial Figure 1 of Wang Wang fails to disclose a smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert (4) abuts the internal face of the external ring (1), and instead discloses a largest-diameter transverse end face of a further conical insert (5) abutting the internal face of the external ring (see Figure 1 and annotated Figure 1 above). The prior art fails to fairly show or suggest a modification to Wang such that a smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert abuts the internal face of the external ring . Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to rearrange the parts ( In re Japikse , 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950)) of Wang such that the positions of the conical insert (4) and further conical insert (5) are switched in order to meet the deficient limitation, as such a modification would destroy the clamping mechanism of Wang as the tapered clamping faces of the conical inserts would no longer face toward each other such that the force provided by bolt 6 would no longer provide an outward force on to the external ring (2, 3) in order to connect the conical inserts and the internal ring to the tube (7). DE 29614242 (Kirschey; the citations of which are taken from the attached translation) discloses an attachment device (11) obtained by joining three components at the end of a tube (see Figure 3 and annotated Figure 2 below), comprising: a conical insert (13) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the end of said tube (see Figure 3), the conical insert having an element for receiving a gripping or attachment member (see annotated Figure 2 below), an internal ring (12) provided with a recess (12b) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the center of the tube and the angle of which is equal to or less than the angle of the truncated cone of the conical insert (see Figure 3), the external wall (12a) of said internal ring being cylindrical with a diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of the tube (see Figure 3), said insert being located in the recess of said internal ring (see Figure 3), an external ring (14) comprising a cylindrical portion (14a), the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the external diameter of said tube (see Figure 3), the internal wall (14b) of said cylindrical portion of said external ring being intended to come into contact with the cylindrical external wall of the tube (see Figure 3), said external ring comprising a shoulder (see annotated Figure 2 below) which partially closes an end of said external ring and which has a circular opening (see annotated Figure 2 below), said shoulder comprising an annular internal face (see annotated Figure 2 below) intended to abut the end face of the tube and against the transverse end face of the internal ring located on the side of the end of said tube (see Figure 3), characterized in that the conical insert and the external ring are sized so that in their assembled position with the internal ring and the tube: either a smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert abuts the internal face of the external ring, the circular opening having a sufficient diameter to allow free access to the receiving element (see Figure 3), or the smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert is in the same plane as the external face of the external ring. Figure 2. Annotated Figure 3 of Kirschey Kirschey fails to disclose the circular opening having a diameter less than the diameter of the transverse face , and instead discloses disclose the circular opening having a diameter that is the same as the diameter of the transverse face (see annotated Figure 2 above) . The prior art fails to fairly show or suggest a modification to Kirschey such that disclose the circular opening ha s a diameter less than the diameter of the transverse face . Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to make such a modification to Kirschey, as decreasing the diameter of the circular opening would interfere with the ability of the attachment device to connect with a driving or drive machine component as intended (see paragraph [0030]). BE 1009407 (Cauwenberghe; the citations of which are taken from Applicant’s translation provided on June 9, 2023 ) discloses an attachment device (see Figure 3) obtained by joining three components at the end of a tube (2), comprising: a conical insert (22) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the end of said tube (see Figure 3) , the conical insert having an element (21) for receiving a gripping or attachment member (15) , an internal ring (16) provided with a recess (see annotated Figure 3 below) in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter of which narrows in the direction of the center of the tube and the angle of which is equal to or less than the angle of the truncated cone of the conical insert (see Figure 3) , the external wall of said internal ring being cylindrical with a diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of the tube, said insert being located in the recess of said internal ring (see Figure 3) , an external ring (5) comprising a cylindrical portion (6) , the internal diameter of which is substantially equal to the external diameter of said tube (see Figure 3) , said external ring comprising a shoulder which partially closes an end of said external ring and which has a circular opening (see annotated Figure 3 below) , said shoulder comprising an annular internal face (see annotated Figure 3 below) intended to abut the end face of the tube and against the transverse end face of the internal ring located on the side of the end of said tube (see Figure 3) ; characterized in that the conical insert and the external ring are sized so that in their assembled position with the internal ring and the tube: the circular opening having a sufficient diameter to allow free access to the receiving element and less than the diameter of the transverse face (see Figure 3 and annotated Figure 3 below) Figure 3. Annotated Figure 3 of Cauwenberghe Cauwenberghe fails to disclose the internal wall of said cylindrical portion of said external ring (5) being is intended to come into contact with the cylindrical external wall of the tube (2), and instead discloses a clearance between the external ring and the tube such that the external ring may be easily placed upon the tube and subsequently tightened via a clamping force provided by the conical insert (22) and internal ring (16) in cooperation with a bolt (25). Cauwenberghe also fails to disclose the annular internal face of the shoulder being intended to abut the end face of the tube and against the transverse end face of the internal ring located on the side of the end of said tube; and instead discloses an outer shoulder of the internal ring (16) contacting the end of the tube (2). Cauwenberghe further fails to disclose either a smallest-diameter transverse end face (see annotated Figure 3 above) of the conical insert (22) abuts the internal face of the external ring, or the smallest-diameter transverse end face of the conical insert is in the same plane as the external face of the external ring. Cauwenberghe instead discloses the smallest-diameter transverse end face being spaced apart from and of insufficient size and shape such that it is altogether impossible for the smallest-diameter transverse end face to abut the internal face of the external ring (see Figure 3). The prior art fails to fairly show or suggest a modification to Cauwenberghe in order to meet the aforementioned deficiencies of Cauwenberghe. Further, the multiple modifications needed to modify Cauwenberghe in order to meet the limitations of claim 1 would inherently teach away from the intended structure of Cauwenberghe and only arise as a result of improper hindsight reasoning. Claims 5, 10, and 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims for the reasons noted above regarding claim 1. 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 The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) 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 FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3220 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET. 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Amber Anderson can be reached on FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5281 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Josh Skroupa/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678 December 17, 2025