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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the load bearing portion has a lower edge at a periphery of the load bearing portion, the load aperture has a resting edge on which the load weighs down on, and the resting edge is inclined at an angle of 10 degrees relative to the lower edge” of claim 5 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: “of” should be removed from line 2. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Truesdell et al. (US20180340592).
Re claim 1, an apparatus (Fig. 1A) for ascending and descending a line with a load, the apparatus comprising:
a base plate (14) having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end;
a cover plate (20) connected to the base plate (14) and in parallel alignment with the base plate (Fig. 2B);
a first guide (4) connected to the base plate at the first end and disposed between the base plate and the cover plate;
a rocker arm (18) member pivotally connected to the base plate (para. [0034]: “A fastener 6 attaches the second cam 18 to the body 1, and can act as an axle to rotatably/pivotably attach the second cam 18 to the body 1”) between the first end and the second end and disposed between the base plate (14) and the cover plate (20, see Fig. 1A); and
a release member (16) pivotally connected to the base plate (14) between the first end and the second end (Fig. 1A), the release member (16) being opposite the rocker arm member (18) and disposed between the base plate (14) and the cover plate;
wherein the line passes through the apparatus between the base plate and the cover plate, between the rocker arm member and the first guide (para. [0037]: “Fastener 4 can be positioned through aperture 48 of side 14 and aperture 50 of side 20, to assist with holding the body 1 together and to act as a stop (defining the end position) for handle 8 to prevent further rotation about the pivot axis upon the application of the first force F1 (see also FIGS. 4A-H)”. However, note that since the base plate and the cover plate are spaced from one another, the portion of fastener extending between the base plate and cover plate guides the line between the rocker arm 18 and the release member 16.) and between the rocker arm member and the release member when the apparatus is in an unloaded configuration (see para. [0034]: “channel 44 is formed by a space between the first proximal cam end and the second proximal cam end (and the two sides 14 and 20”) and the line is compressed between the rocker arm member and the first guide when a force is applied by a weight of the load to pivot the rocker arm member towards the first guide and the apparatus is in a loaded configuration (Truesdell et al. is silent with respect to compression of the line between the rocker arm member and the guide (fastener 4), however, this feature is inherent to the disclosure of Truesdell et al., specifically, when the rocker arm is rotated counter clockwise from the position shown in Figs. 2A-2C and a line is extended through the channel, a downward force (clockwise force) on the rocker arm will necessarily cause the line to be compressed between the guide 4 and the rocker arm member 18, as well as the release member 16).
Re claim 2, the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rocker arm member comprises a load bearing portion (54), the load bearing portion defining a load aperture (60) for attaching the load.
Re claim 3, the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the release member comprises: an abutment member (17) having a pivoting end (above the lead end of callout 34) and a free end (below the lead end of callout 34); and an elongated member (8) opposite and connected to the abutment member at the free end, the elongated member operable to pivot the abutment member towards the line when a force is applied to the elongated member, causing the line to be released from being compressed between the rocker arm member and the first guide, and shifting the apparatus from the loaded configuration to the unloaded configuration (para. [0040]: “the user can perform the steps described with respect to FIGS. 4A-H, actuating the handle 8 with one hand to adjust the length of the lanyard 400 through the channel 44 as may be needed to position the user closer or further away from the structure/pole 500”).
Re claim 7, the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the rocker arm member (18) further comprises a line abutment portion (19) opposite the load bearing portion (54).
Re claim 8, the apparatus of claim 7, wherein the line abutment portion (19) comprises a tapered portion for providing additional grip on the line (see para. [0038]: “One or more of the first proximal cam end 17 and the second proximal cam end 19 can include lanyard engaging protrusions to grip and hold a lanyard (not shown) positioned through the channel 44 when channel 44 is in a more narrowed configuration, which can be in the form of ridges or teeth of various uniform or non-uniform shapes and sizes (as should be understood and appreciated by those of skill in the art in conjunction with a review of this disclosure). These lanyard engaging protrusions can, but do not have to, cover the entire length or width of either proximal cam end, and can just cover a lesser portion of an entire proximal cam end”}.
Re claim 9, the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the line abutment portion and the load bearing portion defines a rocker shape (see Fig. 1A, the reduced cross section adjacent call out number 40 in Fig. 1A as well as the curved ends 54 and 19 provide a rocker arm shape to the rocker arm 18 of Truesdell et al.).
Reclaim 10, the apparatus of claim 9, wherein in the loaded configuration, the load is attached to the load bearing portion and the load exerts a force (F3 in Fig. 4A) on the rocker arm member (18) to cause the rocker arm member to pivot and the line abutment portion to compress the line against the first guide (As indicated above with respect to claim 1, Truesdell et al. is silent with respect to compression of the line between the rocker arm member and the guide (fastener 4), however, this feature is inherent to the disclosure of Truesdell et al., specifically, when the rocker arm is rotated counter clockwise from the position shown in Figs. 2A-2C and a line is extended through the channel, a downward force (clockwise force) on the rocker arm will necessarily cause the line to be compressed between the guide 4 and the rocker arm member 18, as well as the release member 16. Also see para. [0039]: “When in use, a force F3 is applied to the second cam 18′ in the direction as shown. This force F3 is typically applied by a rope/webbing/body harness positioned around a user, which is attached to a connecting hardware 300 (e.g., a carabineer) that is also connected to the second cam 18′ through the aperture 60′ (see FIG. 5)).
Re claim 11, the apparatus of claim 10, wherein the pivoting end defines a cam heel adjacent a pivot axis, and the free end defines a cam lobe remote from the pivot axis, the cam lobe having an abutment surface (see annotated Fig. 1A of Truesdell et al. below).
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Re claim 12, the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the abutment surface is curved (see annotated Fig. 1B of Truesdell et al. above).
Re claim 13, the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the abutment member is ovular in shape (see annotated Fig. 1B of Truesdell et al. above).
Re claim 14, the apparatus of claim 13, wherein the elongated member is an elongated handle (see handle 8 in Fig. 1B).
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 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truesdell et al. (US20180340592).
Re claim 4, Truesdell et al. fail to disclose the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the load aperture has an elongated shape. However, per MPEP 2144.IV.04.IV.B, changes in shape are considered routine expedients absent a demonstrated criticality of the claimed shape. Accordingly, it 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 to have included wherein the load aperture has an elongated shape in the apparatus of Truesdell et al. as a routine expedient.
Re claim 5, the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the load bearing portion has a lower edge at a periphery of the load bearing portion, the load aperture has a resting edge on which the load weighs down on, and the resting edge is inclined at an angle of 10 degrees relative to the lower edge (see annotated Fig. 1A of Truesdell et al. below, note that since the aperture is circular, the resting edge is inclined at an angle of 10 degrees relative to the lower edge at various locations around the circumference of the circular opening).
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Re claim 6, the apparatus of claim 5, wherein the load aperture has a curved resting edge (see above annotated Fig. 1B of Truesdell et al., note that since the aperture is circular, the resting edge is necessarily curved).
Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Truesdell et al. (US20180340592) in view of Brice (US213165).
Re claim 15, Truesdell et al. fail to disclose the apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a second guide connected to the base plate at the second end and disposed between the base plate and the cover plate. Brice teaches, in the context of automatic brakes for tackle, a second guide (e) connected to the base plate at the second end and disposed between the base plate (c) and the cover plate (d). It 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 to have included a second guide a second guide connected to the base plate at the second end and disposed between the base plate and the cover plate in the apparatus disclosed by Truesdell et al. according to the teachings of Brice in order to control the passage of a rope or ropes (see Brice, pg. 2, first column, second paragraph).
Re claim 16, Truesdell et al. in view of Brice disclose the apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the first guide and the second guide comprise of a rounded channel for accommodating a shape of the line (see Brice, pg. 2, second column, third to last paragraph: “I would observe that although e f g are described as sheaves, they might be simply fixed cross-pins, or their equivalent; but sheaves are preferable to avoid chafing the ropes”).
Re claim 17, Truesdell et al. in view of Brice disclose the apparatus of claim 16, wherein the cover plate is removably connected to the base plate (see the threaded fasteners in Fig. 1A of Truesdall et al.)
Re claim 18, Truesdell et al. in view of Brice disclose the apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a chest tether connector at the first end (see para. [0003] of Truesdell et al., “An eye or other connection point is fixed on an outer arm of the cam assembly. The eye allows attachment of a device (e.g., a work positioning lanyard, carabineer, or the like) to a body belt D-ring or allows attachment of a device to the length adjusting device”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ben Pezzlo whose telephone number is (571)272-9656. The examiner can normally be reached M to Th 7 to 5.
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/BAP/Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/COLLEEN M CHAVCHAVADZE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634