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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I in the reply filed on 2/4/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Accordingly claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 7/24/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. The examiner finds no copy of the NPL documents
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dobbrunz (US 5,333,976). In the embodiments shown in Figs. 8 and 9, Dobbrunz discloses a machining fixing counterbore bolt (14) comprising: a hexagonal head (52); a bolt shaft including a shank portion (54) and a threaded portion (42); a smooth axial bore (50) through the head and shaft for a clearance or sliding fit with a screw shaft (18); and a smooth counterbore in the bolt head to fit a screw head (62) sized for the screw head to bear on a bottom of the counterbore (at 126). The machining fixture and the part to be machined are recitations of intended use of which the bolt of Dobbrunz would be capable of.
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 6-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Attermeyer (US 3,356,324) in view of Dobbrunz. Attermeyer discloses a machining fixture counterbore bolt (32) and screw (34) comprising: a hexagonal bolt head; a bolt shaft integral with the head including a bolt shank and a bolt thread for threaded engagement with a machining fixture (38); a smooth bore (36) through the bolt head and shaft; a screw shaft including a shank portion for a clearance or sliding fit withing the bore; screw threads for threaded engagement with a part to machined (14) for holding the part fixed with respect to the fixture; a screw head to bear against an end or the bolt; a jam nut (40) against the outer surface of the fixture; and screw-threaded bore (22) with a threaded insert (24). The machining fixture extends from a part bearing surface (30).
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Attermeyer does not disclose the bolt head with a counterbore where the screw head is received to bear on a bottom of the counterbore. Dobbrunz discloses a bolt head (52) with a counterbore receiving a head cap screw (62) to bear on a bottom of the counterbore (at 126). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to replace the screw head bearing against and end of the bolt head as disclosed in Attermeyer with a counterbore as disclosed in Dobbrunz because Dobbrunz teaches the counterbore as an alternative to bearing against the end (Fig. 1) for yielding the same results.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Size (US 11,236,778) and Hsieh (US 8,556,559) are other examples of countersunk screw heads. The other references cited teach other examples of spacers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FLEMMING SAETHER whose telephone number is (571)272-7071. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 7:00 eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine Mills can be reached at 571-272-8322. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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