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 .
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.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-8, 13, 21-30, 32-33 and 35-40 are 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. In claim 1, line 17-18, the limitation “extending to be adjacent” is unclear.
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, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21-24, 30, 32-33 and 36-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Corbett (US 10,710,146). Corbett discloses a blind fastener (10) consisting of: a generally cylindrical elongated single piece sleeve (14) having a sleeve diameter including a first end (38), and a second end (48) with a swage collar (42) having a collar diameter and a smooth cavity therethrough with a cavity diameter; and a mandrel (12) received in the cavity including an enlarged portion (32) with a head diameter larger than the cavity diameter at a first mandrel end disposed adjacent the first sleeve end, a pull region (28) at a second end adjacent the second sleeve end, the pull region extending from the second sleeve end to a second mandrel end, a shank region intermediate the first and second ends with at least two grooves (24a); wherein the shank is shown with a major diameter (at 22) and the pull region is clearly shown to have a length less than 2 times the major shank diameter (see Fig. 1). There is no breakneck groove and the fastener is configured to be installed in a bore with a diameter no greater than the head diameter. Corbett discloses the pull region can include a single groove or at least one groove which would inclusive of two grooves (column 3, lines 31-36). The blind fastener is configured to be installed bore in a structure (52, 54) with the sleeve deformed on a first side and the collar swaged on an opposite side (column 5, paragraph beginning line 15) with the pull region remaining intact (column 5, lines 48-50).
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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 2, 25, 26 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Corbett as applied to claims 1 and 23 above and further in view of Brewer (US 2016/0215808). Corbett does not disclose the length of the pull region no greater than 1 times the shank diameter. Brewer discloses a fastener (4) including a mandrel (14) with a swage on collar (10) wherein the mandrel has a pull region at one end comprising a single groove (28) wherein the pull region has a length (L) less than 1 times a major shank diameter (D) where the length is disclosed 0.7 to 1.2 times the diameter (p.[0077]). 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 pull region of Corbett with a pull region a disclosed in Brewer because Brewer teaches that pull region as an improvement over a conventional pull regions for the reasons enumerated in paragraphs [0015]-[0017].
Claims 7, 27-29, 34 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Corbett in view of Brewer as applied above, and further in view of Kendall (US 4,702,655). Modified Corbett does not discuss the material strengths of the fastener. Kendall discloses a fastener similar to modified Corbett but teaches the mandrel to be made of an iron alloy with a hardness greater than Rockwell 45Hrc (column 3, paragraph beginning line 22). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to make the mandrel of modified Corbett of the same material as disclosed in Kendell because Kendall teaches the material to be well suited for blind fastener applications such as in modified Corbett.
Response to Remarks
Applicant’s remarks have been considered but are moot in light of the new grounds of rejection. The rejection was modified to basically mirror one of the proposed rejection in the IPR of the parent application.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675