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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 4 only restates limitations which are present in claim 1, and therefore it does not further limit the subject matter. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shipman et al (US 20250100638 A1).
For claim 1, Shipman discloses an adjustable seat post control, comprising:
a connecting post 202, including a first chamber interior penetrating from top to bottom and a first connecting thread Fig. 4: top outside threads of 202;
a limiting member 422, disposed in the first chamber, wherein the limiting member is disposed in the first chamber horizontally 422 has a significant horizontal component within the chamber, from one side to the other;
a transmission element 204, movably disposed in the first chamber, and having a limiting groove bore hole within tube 204 which limits movement to be vertical corresponding to the limiting member 422 is within the bore hole;
a routing tube shaft 408, wherein an upper end of the routing tube has a tube cap Fig. 9: seal 904;
an internal routing wires 438/440, disposed in the routing tube, and having an upper end exposed from the routing tube Fig. 9;
wherein the upper end of the internal routing is connected to the limiting member wires are connected to 422, a lower end of the internal routing extends to outside of the transmission element Fig. 4: extend below 204, and the transmission element has a push groove located at bottom end of the transmission element Fig. 7: bottom of 204 has a groove within bumper 710/406, which is pushed when moved and corresponding to the upper end of the routing tube Fig. 4: when 204 is raised the groove within bumper 710 fits around the bottom portion shown in Fig. 9, and therefore the groove slots around the upper end of 408, and wherein the tube cap is located at the push groove the groove slots around the whole of the cap 904.
Shipman does not disclose what material the wire cable is made of. Shipman does state “the seat post 114 may include only one wire (e.g., only the first wire 438). In some such examples, the shaft 408 may be constructed of a conductive material (e.g., copper, steel, etc.). As such, the shaft 408 may operate as the second wire or electrical route” (Para 0096)” which suggests that steel would be a suitable material for the wire.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a steel wire cable in order to use a common, cheap, and conductive material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. See also Ballas Liquidating Co. v. Allied industries of Kansas, Inc. (DC Kans) 205 USPQ 331.
For claim 2, Shipman discloses the adjustable seat post control according to claim 1, wherein the upper end of the internal routing has a mounting portion Fig. 9: portion of wires 438/440 engaged by the set screw 946, and the limiting member has a mounting groove matching with the mounting portion so that the mounting portion can be engaged in the mounting groove Fig. 9: the groove just to the left of the set screw 946 where the wires are secured by the set screw.
For claim 3, Shipman discloses the adjustable seat post control according to claim 2, wherein the connecting post has a side hole Fig. 8: tube 202 is open at the bottom and therefore has a hole at its bottom side, and the limiting member can be disposed in the connecting post from the side hole can be inserted that way; wherein each of the connecting post, the limiting member, and the transmission element has a routing slot for accommodating the internal routing internal routing 438/440 passes through the center of each of these elements and therefore they each have a routing slot to accommodate it, and wherein notches of the routing slots of the connecting post, the transmission element, and the limiting member correspond to each other the slots (and the notches of the slots, which is interpreted as the space formed by the slot) of each element are colinear and therefore “correspond” to each other, which is a broad limitation.
For claim 5, Shipman discloses the adjustable seat post control according to claim 1, further including a connecting member Fig. 4: collar 216 for connecting functional language to a hydraulic rod for connecting to 204, the connecting member has a second connecting thread corresponding to the first connecting thread 215 threaded at bottom to top of 202, the connecting post is engaged with the connecting member to form a switch space space circumferentially surrounded by the collar 216, and the switch space is communicated with a connecting member hole for the hydraulic rod hole at the top of the collar, which the rod 204 extends through.
For claim 6, Shipman discloses the adjustable seat post control according to claim 5, wherein the first connecting thread is an external thread and the second connecting thread is an internal thread Fig. 4.
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 COLIN N M ZOHOORI whose telephone number is (571)272-7996. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSHUA J MICHENER can be reached at (571)272-1467. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/COLIN ZOHOORI/Examiner, Art Unit 3642 /JOSHUA J MICHENER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3642