DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on September 22, 2023 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 .
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.
Regarding claim 21, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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, 21-24 and 28-32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rieger (DE 19856755 A1) in view of Phillips (WO 2006/083838).
Rieger discloses a tow element, generally shown in figure 1, to connect a bicycle 6 to a tow lift 1. The tow element is comprised of a tube 11 extending from the tow rope 1, downward to the bicycle to attach to the handlebars 9 of the bicycle.
Rieger discloses the tow element as described above but does not specifically show a loop to connect the tube to the bicycle. Phillips discloses a tube 103 to connect a pair of bicycles together. The connecting tube is comprised of two sections. The first section 103A, is connected to the rear of a first bike and the second section 103B is connected to the front of the second bicycle as shown in figure 2. Figures 3 and 4 show an exploded view of a metal loop structure to connect the two bicycles. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have utilized a loop structure, like that of Phillips, and applied it to a tow rope system, like that of Rieger, with the expected result of providing a more safe and secure attachment for the bicycle and the tow rope.
The above combination of Rieger and Phillips discloses the tow element and loop. However, there is no mention of the tow loop having a polymer coating. It is well known in the art to use polymer coatings to cover metal components from damage or corrosion. Therefore, it would have been an obvious design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have coated a loop, like that of Phillips, with a polymer coating with the expected result of coating the loop to prevent corrosion and damage to the loop and to extend the lifespan of the loop.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 and 25-27 are 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.
Conclusion
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/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
February 6, 2026