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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
pg. 7, line 15, “the or” should be removed.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Line 1, “wherein” should be inserted between “3” and “the”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 5 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 regards as the invention. The terminology “pip and socket-type of arrangement but in which the pip is replaced with a locking pin” is unclear and renders the claim indefinite. Specifically, the phrase "pip and socket-type of arrangement but in which the pip is replaced with a locking pin " renders the claim indefinite because the claim includes elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "type of arrangement"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bingham (US20120118666).
1: A rope wrench (Figs. 1-8, 10) comprising or including a base plate (25) having a lever arm (18) at one end and a lever handle opposite the lever arm, a pair of bollards (16) at the lever arm end for receiving therebetween an anchored climbing rope (22), and a gate (Fig. 5, 124) spaced from the back plate and pivotable about one of the bollards (Fig. 5), thereby permitting mid-rope access to the bollards when open and preventing mid-rope detachment when closed ([0033]: ”Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5, one of the side members 124 may be swingable about an axis of the friction element 136. The second aperture 132 has an open end (i.e., is a notch along the edge of the side member 124) so that the side member 124 can release from the friction element 137)”), the arrangement being such that when the gate is closed and the lever arm is rotated by the handle about the major axis of one of the bollards they collectively cause the rope to assume a serpentine shape to shorten the effective length of the main rope and assist ascent by the climber or to impart friction to the rope when descending whereby to permit controlled descent (Figs. 2 and 3, see also [0024]: “rope climbing apparatus 10 serves as a friction assist tool”).
2: The rope wrench according to Claim 1 wherein the gate includes a hand-operated latch by which to secure it in its closed position for use and with which to open the gate when the rope wrench is being attached or detached from an anchored rope ([0033]: “Optionally, the tether connector may include a quick release mechanism . . . so that the apparatus can be installed anywhere along the line of climbing rope (as opposed to just at an end)”).
3: The rope wrench according to Claim 1 wherein one of the two bollards includes a rotatable cam by which to vary the distance between them to suit rope diameter or rope type ([0029]: “Generally, the friction elements 36, 37 should be spaced so that they are slightly wider apart than the diameter of the rope or just touching the climbing rope and not so tight that the apparatus 10 drags along the climbing rope during ascent. Alternatively, the friction element may have a lobed cam surface that is cooperable with the slotted aperture 32 for adjustment of the position of the friction element 37”).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bingham (US20120118666) in view of Brand (EP1228785).
4: Bingham discloses the rope wrench according to Claim 3 wherein the bollard with the cam includes an indexing arrangement whereby particular angular positions of the cam can be selected as required ([0029]: “Alternatively, the friction element may have a lobed cam surface that is cooperable with the slotted aperture 32 for adjustment of the position of the friction element 37”), however, Bingham fails to disclose wherein the indexing arrangement is spring biased. Brand teaches, in the context of rope wrenches, a spring biased indexing arrangement (Fig. 2, 23, and MT [0015]: “Preferably, at the narrowest point of the cross section of the longitudinal opening 3 of the fall prevention device 1, a movable element in the form of a roller 23 is arranged, which is pressed onto the guide 2 by means of spring force”). 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 spring biasing to the index arrangement in the rope wrench disclosed by Bingham according to the teachings of Brand in order to render the rope wrench even more suitable for “guides 2, or cables, of different diameters” MT [0015].
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bingham (US20120118666) in view of Merritt (US10258829).
5: Bingham discloses the rope wrench according to Claim 3 wherein an indexing arrangement comprises axially rotating it to a required angular position and locking the bollard in the new position. ([0029]: “the friction element may have a lobed cam surface that is cooperable with the slotted aperture 32 for adjustment of the position of the friction element 37”) However, Bingham fail to disclose wherein the axially rotating indexing arrangement includes a pip and socket-type of arrangement but in which the pip is replaced with a locking pin selectively engageable in one of a series of sockets, or vice versa as the case may be, by pulling the bollard away from the base plate, rotating it to a required angular position and releasing it, whereby to temporarily lock the bollard in the new position. Merritt teaches, in the context of rope wrenches, wherein the axially rotating indexing arrangement includes a pip and socket-type of arrangement but in which the pip is replaced with a locking pin selectively engageable in one of a series of sockets, or vice versa as the case may be, by pulling the bollard away from the base plate, rotating it to a required angular position and releasing it, whereby to temporarily lock the bollard in the new position (col. 4, lines 48-55: “Eccentric pins 108a and 108b are drilled and tapped through the rotational axis to receive bolts 119a-119c. Further, one end of each of eccentric pins 108a and 108b may be milled and/or shaped to a pattern matching that cut/milled into the third aperture of upper side plate 102 and lower side plate 104, thus providing a mechanism for indexing the position of rotation of the eccentric pin (see FIG. 5)”). 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 axially rotating indexing arrangement includes a pip and socket-type of arrangement but in which the pip is replaced with a locking pin selectively engageable in one of a series of sockets, or vice versa as the case may be, by pulling the bollard away from the base plate, rotating it to a required angular position and releasing it, whereby to temporarily lock the bollard in the new position in the axially rotatable indexing arrangement disclosed by Bingham according to the teachings of Merritt in order to provide an axially rotatable indexing arrangement with discrete adjustment settings “to accommodate various rope sizes and constructions” col. 4, lines 55-57 of Merritt.
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
/DANIEL P CAHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634