9DETAILED 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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Great Britain on 05/17/2018.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/03/2024, 06/03/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings in the previous parent application for this continuation application has been reviewed (see office actions for the previous application) and thus the drawings for this continuation application have not been reviewed (as they should be the same drawings as the parent). If there are any errors raised in the previous application that are also present in the current continuation application, applicant is advised, if they choose, to fix those drawings errors for this continuation application.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “explosion protection seal” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “919)” should be “(19)” and the last sentence, which is somewhat highlighted before in the abstract, is similar to “disclosure concerns” and should be removed.
Correction is requested. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2, 8, 10, 12-15, and 19-20 objected to because of the following informalities:
“the cable gland” or “the gland” in Claims 1-2, 8, 12-13, 15, 19-20 should be “cable gland body”
Is the second “a cable” in Claim 8 and 15 different or same from the first “a cable”, if same, should be “the cable”
“the gland. wherein the explosion protection” in Claim 8 (near end of claim) should be “the gland; wherein the explosion protection”
“and wherein” in Claim 10 and 17 should be removed
Second “spigot” in Claim 12 and 19 should be “the spigot”
“the sealing member” in Claim 14 should be “the cable gland sealing member”
“the passage” in Claim 15 should be “the passage of the cable gland body”
“a cable gland sealing member” in Claim 20 should be “the cable gland sealing member”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in Claims 12, 14, and 19 in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "first body part" and “second body part” in the claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 and 18-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 1, for which claims 2-14 depends, teaches a limitation: “a clamp and the explosion protection seal are received within the passage of the cable gland; and wherein the cable gland further comprises: an armour clamp within the passage of the cable gland, arranged to grip an earthing shield of a cable passing through the gland” or “an armour clamp within the passage of the cable gland, arranged to grip an earthing shield of a cable passing through the gland. wherein the explosion protection seal is disposed between the armour clamp and the cable gland sealing member” or “ the ingress prevention seal is integrally joined to the second end of the cable gland body and is disposed at least partially external to the passage; and wherein the ingress prevention seal has a first seal end and a second seal end with a larger width than the first seal end, wherein a truncated cone portion is formed between the first seal end and the second seal end and forms a seal pathway configured to receive the cable” that are not adequately disclosed in the prior art of record and areas searched for this action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is presented in the Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMED AZAM whose telephone number is (571)270-0593. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00am-3:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Dole can be reached on (571) 272-2229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MA/Examiner, Art Unit 2848
/Timothy J. Dole/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2848