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 .
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 11/25/25. Accordingly the application has been amended.
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(s) 15-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martire (20220250278) in view of Harrington (3619432).
Claim 15. Martire discloses a forming system for concrete structural members, comprising:
a structural support assembly (such as 952 as disclosed in the embodiment of figures 8-9);
a hollow flexible air form (such as 954 in the embodiment of figures 8-9 or as noted in the various other embodiments disclosed and shown) contacting the upper surface of the structural support assembly (as in the embodiment of figures 8-9), the flexible air form remains exposed apart from resting upon the structural assembly (as noted at paragraphs 0050-0053), the flexible air form includes:
an air port (962 or 964 or 970 or where one or more inlets such as 330 or 340, paragraph 0040) can be included in the other disclosed embodiments) configured to receive air for inflation of the flexible air form; and
one or more auxiliary ports (the other of 962 or 964 or other of the one or more inlets such as 330 of the other disclosed embodiments) configured to receive a fluid concrete (as noted in the disclosure);
wherein the fluid concrete displaces the air inside the flexible air form, the flexible air form is configured to remain inflated during filling with fluid concrete (as noted at least at paragraph 0037,0040,0050-0053).
Martire discloses the use of one or more auxiliary ports in a hollow flexible air form configured to receive a fluid concrete, where the concrete displaces air inside the flexible form during filling with the concrete. Martire further discloses embodiments where it may be desired to provide additional structural support under the hollow flexible air form.
Martire does not expressly disclose a structural support assembly having an upper face, the hollow flexible air form contacting the supper surface of the structural support assembly.
Harrington discloses a method of constructing a concrete shell employing an inflatable form, comprising a structural support assembly (24,25,26,37) with a hollow flexible air form (23) contacting the upper surface of the structural support assembly (as seen in the figures and noted in the disclosure).
Accordingly it would have been obvious at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify airform system (any of the disclosed embodiments including 300 or 800 or 900) of Martire to include the structural support assembly having an upper face as taught by Harrington, whereby the hollow flexible air from of Martire contacts the upper surface of the structural support assembly of Harrington to achieve the predictable result of structurally stable mold with even and consistent forming of the concrete layer for complex structures.
Claim 16. The system of claim 16, wherein the flexible air form creates walls with a curved geometry (as noted throughout the disclosure and figures of Martire).
Claim 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the flexible air form is exposed on at least one side (as noted throughout the disclosure and figures of Martire, where the side not contacting the supper surface of the structural support assembly is exposed).
Claim 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the fluid concrete is formed to a particular shape by the flexible air form (as noted throughout Martire).
Claim 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the concrete structural member includes the hollow flexible air form filled with the fluid concrete (as noted at least at paragraphs 0037,0040,0050-0053).
Claim 20. Martire discloses the system of claim 16, but does not expressly disclose wherein the air port is located above the one or more auxiliary ports, the one or more auxiliary ports are configured to close as the fluid concrete level reaches each of the one or more auxiliary ports. However it is seen in figure 3 that one airport 330 and in figure 9A airports 964,962 are on the lower half of the device. Martire discloses more than one air inlet may included. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the assembly of Martire to have the air port located above the one or more auxiliary ports to achieve the predictable result of being able to continuously fill the hollow inflatable air form with air to maintain the desired shape while the concrete fills from the lower to the upper of the form.
Claim 21. Martire in view of Harrington disclose a method of forming an elevated concrete structural component, comprising:
obtaining the forming system of claim 16 (as noted in the claim 16 above);
locating the hollow flexible air form above the frame support assembly (where the step of “locating” is the obvious method step of disposing the hollow flexible air form in contact with the upper surface of the structural support assembly as noted in the rejection above);
inflating the flexible air form through the air port;
filling the inflated flexible air form with fluid concrete simultaneously while inflating (as noted above and throughout the disclosure of Martire); and
retaining the flexible air form around the concrete after the fluid concrete sets (Martire paragraph 0039 where the mold may remain with the finished structure).
Claim 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the flexible air form is left unsupported on an external face (where the external face is exposed and therefore left unsupported).
Claim 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of inflating the flexible air form occurs both before filling the flexible air form with the fluid concrete and continues during the step of filling the flexible air form with fluid concrete (as noted throughout Martire).
Claim 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the air form is configured to define the external shape of the fluid concrete (as noted throughout Martire).
Claim 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the flexible air form and the concrete make a single composite structural component which allows removal of the structural support assembly (as noted throughout Martire).
Claim 26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: removing the structural support assembly to retain the elevated concrete structural component (as taught by Harrington where the structural support assembly is a temporary support for use until the concrete is structural cured).
Claim 27. Martire in view of Harrington discloses the method of claim 26, but do not expressly disclose further comprising: switching which of the one or more auxiliary ports receives fluid concrete during filling. Martire does discloses the use of multiple inlet ports, thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the method to include switching which of the one or more auxiliary ports receives the fluid concrete during filling to improve the forming process by using a port that isn’t covered by already placed concrete.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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. Applicants arguments appear to be drawn to the claims as previous presented which have been cancelled. Applicants arguments regarding Martire are not persuasive as they are not directed to the interpretation and rejection as presented above.
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 JESSICA LAUX whose telephone number is (571)272-8228. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-3:30.
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JESSICA L. LAUX
Examiner
Art Unit 3635
/JESSICA L LAUX/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635