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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 3-6 are objected to because:
Claim 1, lines 7-8, “a piston member” should be -the piston member-.
Claim 3, line 2, “an outer circumference” should be -the outer circumference-.
Claim 4, line 3, “the plurality of elastic springs” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 5, line 7, “the stopping ends” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 6, line 13, “the stopping ends” lacks antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al, US 20210320481 [Kim] in view of Yeon et al, KR 20110130914 [Yeon].
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses (figs.4-9) a high-speed earthing switch for a gas insulated switchgear, comprising
an enclosure (10), a cylinder member (30) installed inside the enclosure (10) and having ventilation holes (61) formed in a lower portion thereof along a circumferential surface and a cylinder hole (32) formed in an end portion thereof, and a piston member (20) inserted into the cylinder member (30), having one end protruding outside through the cylinder hole (32), and moving forward and backward by receiving force from a drive unit to spray air inside the cylinder member (30) toward a contact portion when opened, where a fixed plate (60) having a first surface facing the cylinder hole (32) is disposed on a piston member (20) and a movable plate (70) is disposed on a second surface of the fixed plate (60) facing an opposite direction to the cylinder hole (32) to be slidable along the piston member (20) inside the cylinder member (30), the high-speed earthing switch.
Kim fails to disclose an elastic support unit disposed inside the cylinder member to enable the movable plate to be elastically pressed to be in close contact with the second surface of the fixed plate.
Yeon shows (figs.4-6) a disconnecting switch comprising an elastic support unit (35) disposed inside a cylinder member (65) to enable a movable plate (20) to be elastically pressed to be in close contact with a second surface of a fixed plate (30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the earthing switch of Kim with the teaching of the elastic support unit of Yeon, thereby providing positive connection between the contacts during a closing operation.
Regarding claim 7, Kim further discloses a gas insulated switchgear comprising the high-speed earthing switch [para.0001].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten to overcome claim objections; and 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:
Regarding claim 2, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed high-speed earthing switch, where the elastic support unit comprises a support member and an elastic spring, the support member is formed in a ring shape and is fixed at a predetermined position on an outer circumference of the piston member spaced apart from the movable plate, and the elastic spring is disposed between the support member and the movable plate to elastically support the support member and the movable plate.
Regarding claim 5, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed high-speed earthing switch, where the elastic support unit comprises fixed members and elastic springs, each of the fixed members has one end extending from the second surface of the fixed plate by a predetermined length, a stopping end is formed on another end of each of the fixed members, and the elastic springs are disposed on the fixed members, respectively, to elastically support the movable plate and the stopping ends between the movable plate and the stopping ends.
Regarding claim 6, the prior art fails to teach or show, alone or in combination, the claimed high-speed earthing switch, wherein the elastic support unit includes a first elastic support unit and a second elastic support unit, the first elastic support unit comprises a support member and a first elastic spring,
the support member is formed in a ring shape and is fixed at a predetermined position on an outer circumference of the piston member spaced apart from the movable plate, the first elastic spring elastically supports the support member and the movable plate between the support member and the movable plate, the second elastic support unit comprises fixed members and second elastic springs,
each of the fixed members has one end extending from the second surface of the fixed plate by a predetermined length, a stopping end is formed on another end of each of the fixed members, and the second elastic springs are disposed on the fixed members, respectively, to elastically support the movable plate and the stopping ends between the movable plate and the stopping ends.
The prior art, either alone or in combination cannot reasonably be construed as adequately teaching the above limitations in combination with the remaining claim elements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gery et al, Jeong, Lee, Stenzel, Shimizu et al, Nakauchi et al, Golota and Wilson are examples of gas insulated earthing switches configured similar to the present invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM A BOLTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5887. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 7:30AM - 5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee S Luebke can be reached at 571-272-2009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM A BOLTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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