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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5,181,784 to Jordens et al.
Re-claim 1, Jordens et al. disclose a bush, comprising: a side stopper portion 11 comprising a first shock absorbing portion 11, an upper plate 10 and a lower plate 12; a main body portion comprises a second shock absorbing portion 3, the first shock absorbing portion and the second shock absorbing portion are discontinuous (i.e. separate elements); a housing portion 4 couples the side stopper portion 30 to the main body portion, the housing portion 4 comprises a fixed portion (expanded distal end) surrounding an external peripheral surface of the lower plate. The external peripheral surface of an axially extending portion of plate 12 is surrounding by the expanded distal end of the housing, see figure 1.
Re-claim 2, a material of the first shock absorbing portion 11 and a material of the second shock absorbing portion 3 have different properties, see column 2 lines 33-37.
Re-claim 3, the first shock absorbing portion 11 is disposed between the upper plate 10 and the lower plate 12, see figure 1.
Re-claim 4, the main body portion comprises an inner pipe 1 protruding from a first end, a protrusion 7 of the inner pipe is inserted into the side stopper portion, see figure 1.
Re-claim 5, an end of the protrusion 7 of the inner pipe 1 is in contact with the upper plate 9.
Re-claim 6, the upper plate 9 further comprises a first protrusion 15 protruding toward the first shock absorbing portion.
Re-claim 8, the main body portion further comprises a third shock absorbing portion 6 protruding from a side of the main body portion opposite the side stopper portion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-13 and 17-23 are allowed.
Claims 7 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 9, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The language of objected claim 7 that defined over the prior art was the U-shaped formation, as modifying Jordens et al. to include this feature would have added complexity and costs to the bearing element. As such this modification is not seen as obvious. As such the rejection in light of Jordens et al. is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 inquiries concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to Thomas Williams whose telephone number is 571-272-7128.
The examiner can normally be reached on Tuesday-Friday from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's
supervisor, Robert Siconolfi, can be reached at 571-272-7124. The fax phone number for the
organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding
should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-6584.
TJW /THOMAS J WILLIAMS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616 July 13, 2026
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