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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
No information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted.
Oath/Declaration
No Oath/Declaration has been submitted.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Re: Fig. 2 to Fig. 7B and Fig. 8 are color drawings per 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2)—note that grayscale is considered “color” as opposed to black line drawings as defined in 37 CFR 1.84(a)(1). However, color drawings are normally permitted in utility applications, as stated in 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2). The drawings should be replaced with black and white line drawings.
Re: Fig. 1-2 and Fig. 9, It is unclear how the first and second platform corresponds with Fig. 9 and its further unclear how the actuator and mounting plate of Fig. 1 corresponds with Fig. 9. The first and second platform should be identified in Fig. 9 as well as the actuator and mounting plate in Fig. 9, to fully understand the relationship between the elements as described in claim 1.
Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re: Claim 1, The claims are replete with indefinite language claim 1 recites the limitations “a local sense and control system constructed to receive: a loading specification, the force measurements and torque measurements from the load cell, and position information from each position encoder, and output control commands to each servo-control of the plurality of actuator assemblies based on the received loading specification, wherein the control commands are updated in time in accordance with the position information from each position encoder and the force measurements and torque measurements from the load cell.”. The structure which goes to make up the device must be clearly and positively specified. The structure must be organized and correlated in such a manner as to present a complete operative device.
However, it's not clear if the local sense and control system is a part of the multiple degree-of-freedom fatigue testing apparatus or separate from the multiple degree-of-freedom fatigue testing apparatus. Moreover, clarification is requested regarding the location of the local sense and control system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The Prior arts made available do not teach or fairly suggest, alone or in combination; a multiple degree-of-freedom fatigue testing apparatus a load cell connected to a second platform and constructed to output force measurements in three orthogonal directions and torque measurements about the three orthogonal directions, a mounting plate is constructed to hold a portion a specimen, a specimen support holds another portion of the specimen, a direct-strain-imaging system comprises a camera constructed to record a set of images of a specimen during fatigue testing, a local sense and control system is constructed to receive a loading specification, force measurements and torque measurements from a load cell, and position information from each position encoder, and output control commands to each servo-control of the set of actuator assemblies based on the received loading specification, the control commands are updated in time in accordance with the position information, the force measurements, and the torque measurements, from the load cell also in independent claim 1 distinguish the present invention from the combined prior art.
Hence the prior art of record fails to teach the invention as set forth in claim 1. The examiner cannot find specific teaching of the invention, nor reasons within the cited art to combine the elements of these references other than applicant’s own reasoning to fully encompass the current pending claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N HOPKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-7042. The examiner can normally be reached M & F 9-5 and T-TH, 6-4.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Deherrera can be reached at (303) 297-4237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRANDI N HOPKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855