DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to amendments filed April 1, 2026.
Election/Restrictions
2. Applicant’s election with traverse of Species I (Fig. 1-2) in the reply filed on November 12, 2025 is acknowledged. Examiner addressed Applicant’s traversal in the prior action dated December 2, 2025 and the requirement for election has been deemed proper and made FINAL. Accordingly, claims 6, 10, 12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Status of claims
3. Claims 1-13, 16-18, 21-24 are pending. Examiner notes the cancellation of claims 14-15, 19-20 and the addition of claims 21-24 in amendments filed April 1, 2026. Further, claims 6, 10, 12 are withdrawn from further consideration as being directed to a nonelected species. See above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-5, 7-9, 11, 13, 16-18, 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heston et al. (US 9,618,051; hereinafter Heston) in view of Stratienko et al. (US 4,367,053; hereinafter Stratienko) of Butzow et al. (US 3,804,479; hereinafter Butzow).
Regarding claim 1, Heston (see embodiment in Fig. 1-5) discloses a device for coupling components (12, 15), comprising:
a first element (50) having at least one first inclined surface (see Annotated Fig. 1 below); and
a second element (20) having at least one second inclined surface reciprocal to the at least one first inclined surface of the first element (see Annotated Fig. 1), wherein an axial movement of at least one of the elements causes a radial force to be applied to at least one of the components (see Col. 5 lines 29-39 and Col. 7 line 21 – Col. 8 line 7 discussing how rotationally coupling the threads 55 of the first element with the threads 42 of the retaining element 40 causes axial movement of the first element, which thereby contracts the second element onto component 15, causing a radial force to be applied to component 15).
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Annotated Figure 1
Heston does not explicitly disclose of a liner disposed between the at least one first inclined surface of the first element and the at least one second inclined surface of the second element, wherein the liner is an anti-friction fabric.
Stratienko teaches of a similar device for coupling a shaft (2) to a hub (1) comprising a first element (9) in the form of an inner wedge ring and a second element (10) in the form of an outer wedge ring which are configured to grip against the shaft and an inner bore of the hub (see Abstract), the wedge rings each having matching tapered inclined surfaces that correspond with one another (see Fig. 2, see Col. 2 line 49 – Col. 3 line 4), and wherein an anti-friction liner that is a Teflon composition is disposed between the surfaces, which prevents metal-to-metal contact between the wedge rings (see Col. 2 line 49 – Col. 3 line 4, see Col. 9 lines 58-63).
Butzow teaches of a low-friction fabric liner (13, i.e. an anti-friction fabric) that is produced from a woven material comprising Teflon filaments (16, see Col. 4 lines 37-47, Teflon filaments are polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) that is coated with a reinforcing thermoset resin (resin 15 is cured and reinforced with glass filaments 14, see Col. 4 line 26-36, i.e. a reinforcing thermoset resin).
It would be obvious to modify Heston with the teachings of Stratienko, such that the device further comprises an anti-friction liner that has a Teflon composition be disposed between the surfaces, so as to prevent direct contact between the first and second elements, thereby preventing wear of the elements and extending the lift of the elements. It would be further obvious to modify Heston to have the anti-friction liner be in the form of an anti-friction fabric that is produced from a woven material comprising Teflon filaments (i.e. polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) that is coated with a reinforcing thermoset resin, as taught by Butzow, as the fabric of Butzow is a well-known anti-friction fabric having a Teflon composition that is readily available to one of ordinary skill in the art, and would produce the unexpected result of minimizing the wear between the first and second elements of Heston due to the anti-friction properties of the fabric. In doing such, the Teflon filaments (polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) of the anti-friction fabric would serve as a performance coating of the fabric.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach of further comprising a positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) configured to cooperate with at least one of the first element and the second element (see Col. 5 lines 29-39; Col. 7 line 21 – Col. 8 line 7 of Heston; see Fig. 1 of Heston showing threads 42 of the retaining element cooperating with threads 55 of the first element).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) is in threaded engagement with at least one of the first element and the second element (see Fig. 1 of Heston showing threads 42 of the retaining element engaging with threads 55 of the first element).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) is coupled to the second element (20 of Heston) by an interlock connection (see Fig. 1-5 of Heston showing flange 48 of the retaining element interlocked within groove 24 of the second element).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) is one of a nut, a bolt, a screw, and a mechanical fastener (see Fig. 1-5 of Heston depicting the retaining element as a nut).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) is configured to cause the axial movement of the at least one of the first element and the second element (see Col. 5 lines 29-39 of Heston discussing how rotation of the threads 42 of the retaining element with threads 55 of the first element causes axial displacement of the first element).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the first element (50 of Heston) includes a first portion and a second portion (see Annotated Fig. 2 below), wherein at least one of the first portion and the second portion includes the at least one inclined surface (see Annotated Fig. 2; the inclined surface is a part of the first portion).
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Regarding claim 9, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the second element (20 of Heston) includes a first portion and a second portion (see Annotated Fig. 3 below), wherein the at least one of the first portion and the second portion includes the at least one inclined surface (see Annotated Fig. 3; the inclined surface is a part of the first portion).
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Annotated Figure 3
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein at least one of the first element (50 of Heston) and the second element (20 of Heston) includes one or more dividers formed therein (first element has dividers 52 of Heston, second element has dividers 22 of Heston).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow do not explicitly teach wherein a coefficient of friction defined between the at least one first inclined surface of the first element and the at least one second inclined surface of the second element is about 0.02. However, Applicant is reminded that 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, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). Being that Heston states that their device may be made from metal or other materials (see Col. 10 lines 20-23 of Heston), it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Heston such that the first element and the second element are made of materials having a coefficient of friction of about 0.02 between the first and second inclined surfaces when in use with the anti-friction fabric, as such would involve only routine skill in the art and is a matter of obvious design choice.
Regarding claim 16, Heston (see embodiment in Fig. 1-5) discloses a method for coupling components (12, 15), comprising:
providing a device including a first element (50) having at least one first inclined surface (see Annotated Fig. 1) and a second element (20) having at least one second inclined surface reciprocal to the at least one inclined surface of the first element (see Annotated Fig. 1); and
causing an axial movement of at least one of the elements to apply a radial force to at least one of the components (see Col. 5 lines 29-39 and Col. 7 line 21 – Col. 8 line 7 discussing how rotationally coupling the threads 55 of the first element with the threads 42 of the retaining element 40 causes axial movement of the first element, which thereby contracts the second element onto component 15, causing a radial force to be applied to component 15).
Heston does not explicitly disclose of a liner disposed between the at least one first inclined surface of the first element and the at least one second inclined surface of the second element, wherein the liner is an anti-friction fabric.
Stratienko teaches of a similar device for coupling a shaft (2) to a hub (1) comprising a first element (9) in the form of an inner wedge ring and a second element (10) in the form of an outer wedge ring which are configured to grip against the shaft and an inner bore of the hub (see Abstract), the wedge rings each having matching tapered inclined surfaces that correspond with one another (see Fig. 2, see Col. 2 line 49 – Col. 3 line 4), and wherein an anti-friction liner that is a Teflon composition is disposed between the surfaces, which prevents metal-to-metal contact between the wedge rings (see Col. 2 line 49 – Col. 3 line 4, see Col. 9 lines 58-63).
Butzow teaches of a low-friction fabric liner (13, i.e. an anti-friction fabric) that is produced from a woven material comprising Teflon filaments (16, see Col. 4 lines 37-47, Teflon filaments are polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) that is coated with a reinforcing thermoset resin (resin 15 is cured and reinforced with glass filaments 14, see Col. 4 line 26-36, i.e. a reinforcing thermoset resin).
It would be obvious to modify Heston with the teachings of Stratienko, such that the device further comprises an anti-friction liner that has a Teflon composition be disposed between the surfaces, so as to prevent direct contact between the first and second elements, thereby preventing wear of the elements and extending the lift of the elements. It would be further obvious to modify Heston to have the anti-friction liner be in the form of an anti-friction fabric that is produced from a woven material comprising Teflon filaments (i.e. polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) that is coated with a reinforcing thermoset resin, as taught by Butzow, as the fabric of Butzow is a well-known anti-friction fabric having a Teflon composition that is readily available to one of ordinary skill in the art, and would produce the unexpected result of minimizing the wear between the first and second elements of Heston due to the anti-friction properties of the fabric. In doing such, the Teflon filaments (polytetrafluoroethylene fibers) of the anti-friction fabric would serve as a performance coating of the fabric.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the device further includes a positioning/retaining element (40 of Heston) configures to cooperate with at least one of the first element (50 of Heston) and the second element (20 of Heston) to cause the axial movement of the at least one of the first element and the second element (see Col. 5 lines 29-39 of Heston discussing how rotation of the threads 42 of the retaining element with threads 55 of the first element causes axial displacement of the first element).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow do not explicitly teach wherein a coefficient of friction defined between the at least one first inclined surface of the first element and the at least one second inclined surface of the second element is about 0.02. However, Applicant is reminded that 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, 277 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). Being that Heston states that their device may be made from metal or other materials (see Col. 10 lines 20-23 of Heston), it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Heston such that the first element and the second element are made of materials having a coefficient of friction of about 0.02 between the first and second inclined surfaces when in use with the anti-friction fabric, as such would involve only routine skill in the art and is a matter of obvious design choice.
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the liner is produced from a woven material coated with a reinforcing thermoset resin (as taught in claim 1).
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the woven material is comprised of at least one of a group comprising polytetrafluoroethylene fibers, aramid fibers, carbon fibers, or a combination thereof (as taught in claim 1).
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein the liner comprises at least one of a performance coating and a resin layer for self-lubrication (as taught in claim 1).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Heston, Stratienko, and Butzow further teach wherein at least one of the performance coating and the resin layer comprises polytetrafluoroethylene (as taught in claim 1).
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-11, filed April 1, 2026, with respect to the prior art rejections of previously presented, now cancelled, claims 14-15 and 19-20, the scope of which is now presented within independent claims 1 and 16, is convincing. As such, a second non-final action is being issued in response to the new grounds of rejection of claims 1 and 16, which includes the newly applied prior art of Butzow. See above.
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN J BAYNES whose telephone number is (571)270-1852. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30AM-4:30PM EST.
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/KEVIN J BAYNES/Examiner, Art Unit 3678
