DETAILED ACTION
The present application and its arguments have been reviewed and currently claims 9 and 16 are rejected, claims 10-14 are objected to, claims 19-20 are withdrawn, and claims 1-8, 15, and 17-18 are cancelled.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicants arguments on page 7 that Bertoldo does not disclose a lip that is extending radially outward and downwardly in a direction away from the male portion, the examiner respectfully disagrees as the annotated fig. 2 below shows that the sloped radially outward portion creates a cavity similar to the present invention (ex., see annotated figure of the present invention which extends radially outward and downward at the same time similarly to the annotated fig. 2 of the prior art).
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In response to applicants arguments on page 7 that Bertoldo does not disclose a cavity receiving area to assist in receiving, aligning, and stacking an adaptive tile, the examiner respectfully disagrees as shown in the annotated figure above that if a male portion of another coupling was inserted into the lip then the lip would “assist in receiving, aligning, and stacking the adaptive tile coupling” as that all it is required is “assisting”. In other words, the ramp portions (ex., the lips that form a cavity like structure as shown in annotated fig. 2 above) at the end of the axially extending arms would “assist” in accepting another adaptive tile coupling, thus meeting the functional limitation of the claim.
In response to applicants arguments on page on 8 that withdrawn claims should be allowed, the examiner respectfully disagrees as withdrawn claims would require to be cancelled.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bertoldo (EP-1653583).
Claim 9, Bertoldo discloses:
An adaptive tile coupling (see fig. 2 hereinafter) comprising:
a male portion (20, fig. 4) including a generally cylindrical section and an outwardly extending flange (17, fig. 1) extending from the generally cylindrical section; and
a female portion (18) being attached to or integrally formed with the male portion (see fig. 4),
the female portion including at least a first section, a second section and a third section (see annotated fig. 2 below),
the first section and the second section being connected by a first hinge (30),
the second section and the third section being connected by a second hinge (see annotated fig. 2),
the first section having at least one fastening mechanism (see annotated fig. 2),
the third section having at least one fastening mechanism (see annotated fig. 2),
wherein at least one of the first and third sections of the female portion are configured to move from an open position to a closed position to form a generally cylindrical shape (ex., compare figs. 2 and 3),
the at least one fastening mechanism of the first section and the at least one fastening mechanism of the third section assist in securing and maintaining the female portion in a closed position (ex., see fig. 3),
wherein the generally cylindrical section of the male portion has a first diameter (ex., see near 20 in fig. 4), and
the first, second and third sections of the female portion in the closed position has a second diameter (ex., see fig. 3),
the second diameter being larger than the first diameter (see fig. 3),
wherein an edge of the female portion includes an offset lip extending radially outward and downwardly in a direction away from the male portion (see annotated fig. 2) so as to form a cavity-receiving area (ex., as shown in response to arguments above) to assist in receiving, aligning and stacking the adaptive tile coupling. (ex., see annotated fig. 2, where every lip extends radially outward; ex., stacking another tile coupling and causing the lip to contact the tile coupling would meet the functional limitation of the claim).
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Claim 16, Bertoldo discloses:
The adaptive tile coupling of claim 9, wherein one of the first and third portions of the female portion includes an adjustable latch (see 36 in annotated fig. 2 above hereinafter; ex., a flexible latch would be considered an adjustable latch as the latch can change positions due to its flexibility) to assist in holding the adaptive tile coupling in the closed position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10-14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regards to claims 10-14, Bertoldo is currently the best prior art but does not disclose the limitations of claims 10-14 (ex., loops as fastening mechanisms; ex., flange including recess; ex., cylindrical section forms a plurality of upwardly extending tabs; ex., the second section comprising ribs; ex., flap/recess engagement of first/third sections).
It would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify Bertoldo to meet the limitations of claims 10-14 as such modification would require impermissible hindsight.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 ALEXANDER TYLER RUFRANO whose telephone number is (571)272-6223. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30AM to 4:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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