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 (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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Figures 1-9 in the reply filed on 2/3/2026 is acknowledged. Applicant indicated that claims 1-8 and 10-15 read on the elected species; however, claims 4, 7-8, and 15 each include a recitation of an alignment notch, which clearly belong with Group II, the non-elected species. As such, claims 4, 7-9, and 15-18 will be withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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, 5-6, 10, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wilkes et al., US 2015/0013262 A1 in view of McMullen, US 3,881,833.
Regarding claim 1, Wilkes teaches a concrete slab load transfer and connection apparatus comprising:
a plurality of load transfer dowels (Figure 1 and the disclosure that dowels can take any shape including round dowels 200(3) as shown in Figure 2); and
a basket (Figure 1) supporting the load transfer dowels, the basket including (reproduction of Figure 1 with Examiner’s annotations provided below):
a first side frame including a first lower elongated member, a first upper elongated member, a plurality of first dowel holding hands connected to the first lower elongated member and the first upper elongated member,
a second side frame including a second lower elongated member, a second upper elongated member, a plurality of second dowel holding hands connected to the second lower elongated member and the second upper elongated member, and
a plurality of side frame connectors connecting the first side frame and the second side frame.
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While Wilkes fails to disclose biasing, McMullen teaches a concrete slab load transfer assembly with dowels and a similar basket and discloses making rod supporting elements/dowel holding hands out of “a steel having sufficient spring tending to cause loop formation 40 to close and thereby exert sufficient gripping pressure about rod”, “in conjunction with wire 40”, and “biases elements 36 into dowel gripping position” which leads to the biasing of upper elongated members as shown in McMullen’s Figure 2. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wilkes first and second dowel holding hands to be formed of spring steel and arranged as disclosed by McMullen as a way to better grip the dowels. The resulting combination yields a plurality of first sections of the first upper elongated member and a plurality of second sections of the second upper elongated member being biased against their natural positions to apply tension to the load transfer dowels to securely connect the load transfer dowels to the basket.
Regarding claim 5, looking at McMullen’s Figure 2, the resulting combination yields the plurality of first sections of the first upper elongated member and the plurality of second sections of the second upper elongated member are biased inwardly against their natural positions to apply tension to the load transfer dowels to securely connect the load transfer dowels to the basket.
Regarding claim 6, the resulting combination includes the plurality of first sections of the first upper elongated member and the plurality of second sections of the second upper elongated member being (also) between the load transfer dowels.
Regarding claim 10, the elements of the resulting combination from claim 1 make obvious the method steps claimed.
Regarding claims 13-14, the elements of the resulting combination from claims 5-6 make obvious the method steps claimed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 11-12 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached Notice of References Cited sheet. Multiple references are cited for teaching a dowel basket assembly.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHERINE J CHU whose telephone number is 571-272-7819. The examiner can normally be reached M-F generally 9:30-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Sebesta can be reached at 571-272-0547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KATHERINE J CHU/Examiner, Art Unit 3671
/CHRISTOPHER J SEBESTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3671