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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application on 06/15/2026 after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but before the filing of a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the commencement of a civil action. The request, however, lacks the fee required by 37 CFR 1.17(e) and/or the submission required by 37 CFR 1.114. Accordingly, the RCE is improper and any time period running was not tolled by the filing of the improper request.
Response to Amendment
Amendments submitted on 06/04/2026 have been considered and entered. Claim 1 has been amended and claims 6-8 have been canceled. Claims 1-5 and 9-10 are pending in the present application.
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 stiffening member that covers all faces of the seal member apart from the inner circumferential face that contacts the brake piston, wherein the stiffening member comprises projections and/or spikes that protrude into the seal member as recited in claim 1 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morith (US 4,336,746) in view of Meyer et al. (US 4,039,053).
Regarding claims 1 and 9, Morith discloses a seal assembly (43a, 40a in fig. 5) for a brake piston (P) of a vehicle wheel brake, the brake piston being displaceably received in a housing (note the piston P within the caliper housing shown in fig. 2) and the seal assembly being configured to fluidically seal the brake piston with respect to the housing;
the seal assembly (43a, 40a in fig. 5) comprising:
- an elastically deformable seal member (43a) having a first portion that is configured to contact an outer surface of the brake piston (P);
- a stiffening member (40a) arranged at at least a second portion of the seal member,
wherein the stiffening member (40a) covers all faces of the seal member (43a) apart from the inner circumferential face that contacts the brake piston (P),
wherein the stiffening member is secured at the seal member.
Morith fails to disclose the stiffening member comprising projections and/or spikes that protrude into the seal member as recited in the claim. However, Meyer et al. disclose a seal assembly (230 in fig. 5) comprising an elastically deformable seal member (234 in fig. 5) and stiffening element (232) having a plurality of projections or spikes (284 in fig. 6) that protrude into the seal member (234). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at time before the effective filing date of the claimed application was made to modify the stiffening member of Morith to include a plurality of projections or spikes as taught by Meyer et al. will prevent any creep of the seal and ensure a positive connection between the seal the stiffening element.
Re-claim 2, Morith discloses the stiffening member (40, 40a) is configured to remain undeformed in reaction to a displacement of the brake piston.
Re-claim 3, Morith fails to disclose the stiffening member comprises a metal material or a rigid plastic material as recited in the claim. However, Meyer et al. disclose a seal assembly (230 in fig. 5) comprising an elastically deformable seal member (234 in fig. 5) and stiffening element (232) having a plurality of projections or spikes (284 in fig. 6) that protrude into the seal member (234), wherein the stiffening member is a dish of rigid material, such as stainless still. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at time before the effective filing date of the claimed application was made to modify the stiffing member of Morith to be rigid metal material as taught by Meyer et al. will prevent any creep of the seal and protect the seal member from being damaged.
Re-claim 4, Morith the stiffening member (40) and/or the seal member are ring-shaped.
Re-claim 5, Morith the stiffening member (40a in fig. 5) is configured to contact the housing.
Re-claim 10, Morith the housing comprises a ring-shaped groove (36 in fig. 2), the seal assembly (40, 43 in fig. 2) being received in said ring-shaped groove.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHBUBUR RASHID whose telephone number is (571)272-7218. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am to 10pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ROBERT SICONOLFI can be reached at 5712727124. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAHBUBUR RASHID/Examiner, Art Unit 3616
/Robert A. Siconolfi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3616
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