DETAILED ACTION
This communication is a FINAL office action on the merits. Claims 1 and 9-20, as filed are currently pending and have been considered below.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In Paragraph 27, line 10, the phrase “such as that illustrate here” should be replaced --as illustrated here--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
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 screw member being able to be pivoted, relative to the clamp housing in a first direction to bring the screw member into contact with the band member must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. The details of the housing do not make clear how the screw can be engaged or disengaged with the band member. The Figures do not provide a view that shows this engagement and disengagement with the band.
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.
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, 9-17 and 20 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 establishes the screw member is pivoted in a first direction in which the screw member is moved “into contact with the band member”. Claim 1 further describes the screw member and screw plate are coupled and pivoted relative to the clamp housing with one another. As noted above, the screw is disclosed as being engageable with the band. This is provided for in the language in the drawing objection above and further supported in Paragraph 3 of the disclosure. The disclosure describes wherein the screw member is moved off of engagement with the band “to allow the band to be fed through the clamp housing and tightened”. The structures to achieve this function are not shown nor described in any sufficient manner. It is unclear is this pivoting motion is akin to the pivoting shown in Yoon (US 2010/0154177) wherein the screw member is rotated away from the band such that the screw is rotated 180 out of engagement with the band or if there is another mechanism at play with the invention.
In claim 1, line 15, the phrase “and/or” renders the claim indefinite as the “or” scenario of the phrase does not appear to be supported. The interference members appear to be features on each that interact with one another. There does not appear to be a scenario wherein a mechanism is only present on the clamp housing or the screw plate.
In line 17 of Claim 1, Applicant further describes wherein interference force is increased in resistance to pivoting. The claim then provides dimples and a flange to resist the pivoting of the screw. It is unclear how the dimples and flange of Fig. 7B of the elected embodiment resists the rotation as herein claimed. If this pivoting is the same as is present in the previous paragraphs and this pivoting is the mechanism similar to the structures of Yoon, it is unclear how these structures increase resistance to the pivoting.
The remaining claims depend from claim 1 and as such inherit the same issues of indefiniteness.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoon (US 2010/0154177).
Regarding claim 1, as best understood, Yoon discloses an apparatus comprising:
a clamp housing (20);
a band member (10) movable relative to the clamp housing, the band member including a plurality of first mating features (11);
a screw member (40) movable relative to the clamp housing and the band member, the screw member including a plurality of second mating features (41), the plurality of second mating features complementary to the plurality of first mating features such that the plurality of second mating features are configured to engage with the plurality of first mating features when the screw member is pivoted, relative to the clamp housing, in a first direction to bring the screw member into contact with the band member (Paragraph 34);
a screw plate (30) rotationally coupled to the clamp housing, the screw member coupled to the screw plate such that as the screw plate is pivoted, relative to the clamp housing (Figs. 5A-5C as shown), the screw member is pivoted, relative to the clamp housing, in the first direction; and
a screw stability mechanism at the clamp housing and/or at the screw plate, the screw stability mechanism configured to provide an interference force that at least increases a resistance to pivoting of the screw member in the first direction (movement of the protrusions within the depressions in a downward direction would cause interference),
wherein the screw stability mechanism comprises a first interference member (22, 25) at the clamp housing and a second interference member (36, 31) at the screw plate, the first interference member configured to contact the second interference member to provide the interference force that at least increases the resistance to pivoting of the screw member in the first direction (Fig. 5C shows wherein further rotation would be resisted)
wherein the first interference member at the clamp housing comprises a first dimple (25) that protrudes out from a first sidewall of the clamp housing into an interior of the clamp housing (Fig. 5B as shown) and a second dimple (25 on opposite sidewall) that protrudes out from a second sidewall of the clamp housing into the interior of the clamp housing, the second sidewall being different than the first sidewall (Fig. 5B as shown), and
wherein the second interference member at the screw plate comprises a flange (Fig. 5C shows wherein at least a portion of 31 is positioned between the dimples) positioned between the first dimple and the second dimple such that the flange contacts the first dimple and the second dimple to provide the interference force that at least increases the resistance to pivoting of the screw member in the first direction (flange extensions 36 contact the dimples 25).
Regarding claim 20, Yoon further discloses wherein the screw stability mechanism comprises a non-uniform thickness at an axle of the screw plate and wherein the non-uniform thickness at the axle of the screw plate is configured to contact the clamp housing (Fig. 4A shows wherein walls extending from 31 extend at non uniform distances establishing non-uniform thicknesses).
Allowable Subject Matter
The allowability of Claims 9-17 cannot be determined in light of 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 27 June 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the drawings, Applicant made note of reference character 109 as representing the movement direction of the screw in making contact with the band member. The Specification describes this motion direction normal to the surface of the band. These clarifications do not overcome the issue wherein Applicant is claiming the screw member is brought “into contact with the band member”. No view is provided in the drawings that clearly shows any engagement of the screw with the band, state where the screw is not in engagement with the band, nor a view that would make clear the screw can transition between these two positions.
As noted above, the pivoting of the screw to bring the screw member into contact with the band member is not described in a manner sufficient for one to understand the mechanism being claimed. Applicant’s remarks have not sufficiently rectified the issues under 112 described previously and herewith.
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 inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL S LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-5735. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason San can be reached at (571) 272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.S.L/Examiner, Art Unit 3677
/JASON W SAN/SPE, Art Unit 3677