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 Objections
Claim 10, line 3, “an electrical contact” should be --each electrical contact--;
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-15 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.
Claim 1, line 8, what “them” refers to?
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, 5-8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cairns (8,025,506).
Regarding claim 1, Cairns discloses an electrical rotary joint device configured to equip an energy exploitation installation, including:
a first part (200, Fig. 2) having a least one first electrical connector (22) and at least one first electrical track (6, Fig. 7) electrically connected to the first electrical connector,
a second part (300, fig. 3) having at least one second electrical connector (146, Fig. 2) and at least one second electrical track (145, Fig. 4) electrically connected to the second electrical connector, and
an electrical interconnection mechanism (2, Fig. 6) configured to electrically interconnect the first electrical track and the second electrical track with the first part and the second part being movable with respect to each other and defining between them a closed internal chamber (Fig. 10) in which the first electrical track, the second electrical track and the electrical interconnection mechanism are housed;
wherein the electrical interconnection mechanism includes a plurality of electrical contact members (11-14, Fig. 6) that are housed, between the first electrical track and the second electrical track and are configured to form rolling deformable contacts between the first electrical track and the second electrical track (Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 5, Fig. 6 shows the electrical contact members are formed by cylindrical.
Regarding claim 6, Figs. 6 and 10 show the electrical contact members are disposed at a distance from each other between and along the first electrical track and the second electrical track.
Regarding claim 7, the electrical interconnection mechanism includes a support member (160) on which the electrical contact members, able to rotate (column 6, lines 32-34), are disposed.
Regarding claim 8, the support member is in the form of a chain provided with links (16-19) each including at least one electrical contact member (148, Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 12, Fig. 6 shows the links and the electrical contact members are arranged so that the electrical contact members project laterally from the links to provide the contact with the first electrical track and the second electrical track.
Claims 1 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maleyko et al. (4,776,585).
Regarding claim 1, Maleyko discloses an electrical rotary joint device configured to equip an energy exploitation installation, including:
a first part (22, Fig. 1) having a least one first electrical connector (116 and 122) and at least one first electrical track (92, Fig. 2) electrically connected to the first electrical connector,
a second part (16, Fig. 2) having at least one second electrical connector (an outer 26, Fig. 2) and at least one second electrical track (96, Fig. 2) electrically connected to the second electrical connector, and
an electrical interconnection mechanism (an inner 26, Fig. 2) configured to electrically interconnect the first electrical track and the second electrical track with the first part and the second part being movable with respect to each other and defining between them a closed internal chamber (Fig. 2) in which the first electrical track, the second electrical track and the electrical interconnection mechanism are housed;
wherein the electrical interconnection mechanism includes a plurality of electrical contact members (87 and 97, Fig. 2) that are housed, between the first electrical track and the second electrical track and are configured to form rolling deformable contacts between the first electrical track and the second electrical track (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Fig. 2 shows the first electrical track and the second electrical track have, in cross section, an L shape and are disposed in opposite orientations so as to form an internal space in which the electrical contact members are disposed.
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cairns.
Regarding claim 15, Cairns discloses the claimed invention as described above except for the first part of the rotary joint device being attached to a fixed unit of the installation and the second part of the rotary joint device being fastened to a movable unit of the installation.
It would have been obvious to modify Cairns to have the first part of the rotary joint device being attached to a fixed unit of the installation and the second part of the rotary joint device being fastened to a movable unit of the installation for better connection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 9-11 and 14 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.
Claims 2-4, 9-11 and 14 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/THANH TAM T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831 03/10/26
thanh-tam.le@uspto.gov