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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: para [0023] line 3, “the” between “to” and “couple” should be removed.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 2, 3, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340).
Re claim 1, Miller et al. disclose a fall arrest system (1000) for a climbable structure (Fig. 1), the fall arrest system comprising: an upper member (1030) affixed to an upper portion of the climbable structure; an upper anchor (1010 and 1011 in Figs. 5-7) positioned and located on the upper member; a lower member (1040) affixed to a lower portion of the climbable structure; a lower anchor (double clamped to the cable in Fig. 1) positioned and located on the lower member; a cable (1001) coupled at a first end to the upper anchor and at a second end to the lower anchor; an attenuator (1042) positioned and located on the lower member, the attenuator including an elastically deformable material (see the spring in Fig. 1); and wherein the attenuator is deformed when a tension greater than a threshold tension is applied to the cable (see para. [0059]: “The system may include a tensioning device 1042 (which may be conveniently located e.g. proximate bottom bracket 1040) which allows an appropriate tension to be applied to cable 1001. It will be appreciated that the above-described pivotally deflectable plate, neck, and so on, may be configured to take into account any force exerted by such tensioning, in addition to taking into account the force from the weight of one or more workers, the forces experienced during a worker fall, and so on.)
Re claim 2, the fall arrest system according to claim 1, wherein the lower anchor extends through the attenuator (see the portion of the anchor extending through the spring in Fig. 1).
Re claim 3, the fall arrest system to claim 1, wherein the lower anchor is slidably coupled to the lower member (note from Fig. 1 that the anchor slides upwardly relative to lower member 1040 as the spring is compressed).
Re claim 7, the fall arrest system according to claim 1, further including: a first side wall member (120) and a second side wall member (220) positioned and located on the upper member opposite from one another; an opening (140 in Figs. 3 and 4) positioned and located between the first side wall member and the second side wall member; wherein the opening extends through the upper member; and wherein the upper anchor (1010 and 1011) extends across the opening (see Fig. 6).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340) in view of Sperian (DE202007012803).
Re claim 4, Miller et al. fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 1 further including a T-washer coupled to the lower anchor; and wherein the T-washer is slidably coupled to the lower member such that the T-washer is movable in a direction parallel to the cable.
Sperian teaches, in the context of fall protection, a T-washer 11 slidably coupled to the lower member 10 such that the T-washer 11 is movable in a direction parallel to the cable.
It 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 to have included a T-washer 11 slidably coupled to the lower member 10 such that the T-washer 11 is movable in a direction parallel to the cable according to the teachings of Sperian in the fall arrest system disclosed by Miller et al. in order to display a preload in the cable (see e.g., paras. [0010] and [0017] of the MT of Sperian).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340) in view of Oriol (EP2826947).
Re claim 5, Miller et al. fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 1, further including a casing positioned and located on the lower member, wherein the casing partially surrounds the attenuator.
Oriol teaches, in the context of fall protection, a casing 3 positioned and located on the lower member, wherein the casing partially surrounds the attenuator (see Fig. 1, the pretension indicator 14 extends through the casing to the spring thus showing that the casing partially surrounds the attenuator).
It 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 to have included a casing positioned and located on the lower member, wherein the casing partially surrounds the attenuator according to the teachings of Orion in the fall arrest system disclosed by Miller et al. in order to provide a scale to indicate a pretension in the cable (see e.g., para. [0025] of Orion).
Claims 6 and 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340) in view of Sperian (DE202007112803) and further in view of Herik Van Den (US10806955).
Re claim 6, Miller et al. fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 1, wherein the lower anchor includes an eye-bolt having a closed perimeter; the upper anchor includes a bolt having a shaft; a lower loop of the cable extends through the closed perimeter of the lower anchor; and an upper loop of the cable is received by the shaft of the upper anchor.
Sperian teaches, in the context of fall protection, an eye-bolt 3 having a closed perimeter and a lower loop of the cable 2 extending through the closed perimeter of the lower anchor and Herik Van Den teaches an upper anchor 17 including a bolt 19 having a shaft and an upper loop of the cable 21 is received by the shaft of the upper anchor 17.
It 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 to have included an eye-bolt 3 having a closed perimeter and a lower loop of the cable 2 extending through the closed perimeter of the lower anchor according to the teachings of Sperian and an upper anchor 17 including a bolt 19 having a shaft and an upper loop of the cable 21 is received by the shaft of the upper anchor 17 according to the teachings of Herik Van Den in order to attach the rope tensioner to the rope to be tensioned (see para. [0015] of the MT of Sperian) and in order to fix the safety cable to the shock absorber (see col. 2, lines 57-58 of Herik Van Den).
Re claim 8, Miller et al. disclose a fall arrest system (1000) configured to couple with a climbable structure (ladder), the fall arrest system comprising: a lower member (1041) affixed to a lower portion of the climbable structure; a lower bracket (1040) positioned and located on the lower member; an upper member (1030) affixed to an upper portion of the climbable structure; an upper bracket (1) positioned and located on the upper member, the upper bracket extending from a first end to a second end (see axis Av in Fig. 3); a cable (1001); wherein the upper bracket includes at least two side wall members (120 and 220) extending from the first end of the upper bracket to the second end of the upper bracket.
Miller et al. fail to disclose the cable including a lower loop and an upper loop; wherein the lower loop of the cable is coupled to the lower bracket. Miller et al. also fail to disclose wherein the upper loop of the cable is positioned and located between the first end and the second end of the upper bracket; and wherein the upper loop of the cable is positioned and located between the at least two side wall members.
Sperian teaches, in the context of fall protection, the cable 2 including a lower loop wherein the lower loop of the cable is coupled to the lower bracket 9 and Herik Van Den teaches, in the context of fall protection, the cable 21 wherein the upper loop of the cable is positioned and located between the first end and the second end of the upper bracket 5; and wherein the upper loop of the cable is positioned and located between the at least two side wall members 11.
It 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 to have included the cable 2 having a lower loop wherein the lower loop of the cable is coupled to the lower bracket 9 according to the teachings of Sperian and wherein the upper loop of the cable 21 is positioned and located between the first end and the second end of the upper bracket 5; and wherein the upper loop of the cable is positioned and located between the at least two side wall members 11 according to the teachings of Herik Van Den in order to attach the rope tensioner to the rope to be tensioned (see para. [0015] of the MT of Sperian) and in order to fix the safety cable to the shock absorber (see col. 2, lines 57-58 of Herik Van Den).
Re claim 9, Miller et al. disclose the fall arrest system of claim 8 wherein the lower bracket includes an attenuator (1042) that deforms in response to a tension in the cable.
Re claim 10, Herik Van Den discloses an upper anchor (19) extending between the at least two side wall members, and wherein the upper loop of the cable (21) is positioned and located on the upper anchor.
Re claim 11, Miller et al. in view of Sperian and further in view of Herik Van Den fail to disclose the fall arrest system of claim 8, wherein each of the at least two side wall members includes a plate having a pentagonal shape. However, per MPEP 2144.04.IV.B., changes in shape are considered routine expedients absent a demonstrated criticality of the claimed shape. Accordingly, it 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 to have included pentagonal shape side wall members in a fall arrest system according to the teachings of Miller et al. in view of Sperian and further in view of Herik Van Den as routine expedients.
Re claim 12, Miller et al. in view of Sperian and further in view of Herik Van Den disclose the fall arrest system of claim 8, wherein the upper member and the lower member each include an upright provided as a tubular member (see 1030 and 1041 in Miller et al. Figure 1), and wherein each of the uprights are configured to selectively couple with the climbable structure (1020, see also e.g., para. [0060] of Miller et al.).
Re claim 13, Miller et al. in view of Sperian and further in view of Herik Van Den disclose the fall arrest system of claim 8, wherein the upper bracket further includes an ancillary plate sized and shaped to receive a climbing hook (see the ancillary plate at the top of the upright 1030 in Fig. 1 of Miller et al.).
Claims 14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340) in view of Herik Van Den (US10806955) and further in view of Sperian (DE202007112803).
Re claim 14, Miller et al. disclose a fall arrest system (1000, see e.g., Fig. 1) configured to couple with a climbable structure (1020), the fall arrest system comprising: an upper bracket positioned (1) and located proximate to an upper end of the climbable structure, the upper bracket including a first side wall member (120, see e.g., Fig. 3) and a second side wall member (220) positioned and located on opposite sides of the upper bracket; an opening extending through the upper bracket (see axis Af-r in Fig. 3), the opening positioned and located between the first side wall member (120) and the second side wall member (220); a lower bracket (1041) positioned and located proximate to a lower end of the climbable structure (1020), the lower bracket including: a frame (1040); a lower anchor (double clamped to the cable 1001); an attenuator (1042) positioned and located on the lower anchor; a cable (1001), the attenuator being deformed when a tension is applied to the cable (It will be appreciated that the above-described pivotally deflectable plate, neck, and so on, may be configured to take into account any force exerted by such tensioning, in addition to taking into account the force from the weight of one or more workers, the forces experienced during a worker fall, and so on.).
Miller et al. fail to disclose an upper anchor extending through the first side wall member and the second side wall member, the cable including an upper loop and a lower loop, and wherein the upper loop of the cable is coupled to the upper anchor and the lower loop of the cable is coupled to the lower anchor. Miller et al. also fail to disclose a T-washer slidably coupled to the frame and the lower anchor being coupled to the T-washer.
Herik Van Den teaches, in the context of fall protection, an upper anchor (17 and 19 in Fig. 1) extending through the first side wall member (11) and the second side wall member (11), the cable including an upper loop, and wherein the upper loop is coupled to the upper anchor (17 and 19 in Fig. 1). Sperian teaches a lower loop in the cable (2) wherein the lower loop of the cable (2) is coupled to the lower anchor (3). Sperian further teaches a T-washer (11, see Fig. 1 of Sperian) slidably coupled to the frame (9) and the lower anchor being coupled to the T-washer (see 6 and 11 in Fig. 2 of Sperian). It 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 to have included an upper anchor extending through the first and second side wall members, the cable including an upper loop, wherein the upper loop is coupled the upper anchor according to the teachings of Herik Van Den and a lower loop in the cable wherein the lower loop of the cable is coupled to the lower anchor, and further to have included a T-washer (11, see Fig. 1 of Sperian) slidably coupled to the frame (9) and the lower anchor being coupled to the T-washer (see 6 and 11 in Fig. 2 of Sperian) according to the teachings of Sperian in a fall arrest system according to Miller et al. in order to fix the safety cable to the shock absorber (see col. 2, lines 57-58 of Herik Van Den), in order to attach the rope tensioner to the rope to be tensioned (see para. [0015] of the MT of Sperian), and also in order to display a preload in the cable (see e.g., paras. [0010] and [0017] of Sperian).
Re claim 17, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, wherein the climbable structure is at least one of a ladder (see Fig. 1 of Miller et al.), a utility pole, a telecommunications tower, a water tower, a wind turbine, a silo, and a scaffolding.
Re claim 18, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the upper bracket and the lower bracket includes a hot-dipped galvanized coating. However, per MPEP 2113, the examination of a product-by-process claim is not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, but only the structure implied by the steps. Accordingly, claim 18 is rejected in view of the galvanized steel used by Miller et al. (see para. [0018]l.: “top bracket 1 may be made of steel, e.g. stainless steel such as grade 304 steel, galvanized steel, or the like”).
Re claim 19, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, wherein the attenuator includes a substantially cylindrical member the having an outer diameter and an inner diameter, and wherein the inner diameter is larger than a diameter of the lower anchor (see the spring 1042 in Fig. 1 of Miller et al.).
Re claim 20, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, wherein the first side wall member and the second side wall member each include a metal plate with a rounded portion (see the rounded portions of plates 11 in Herik Van Den), and the upper loop is positioned and located between the first side wall member and the second side wall member (see Fig. 1 of Herik Van Den).
Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller et al. (US 2021/0046340) in view of Herik Van Den (US10806955) and in view of Sperian (DE202007112803) and further in view of Oriol (EP2826947).
Re claim 15, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, further including a casing coupled to the frame, the casing at least partially surrounding at least one of the T-washer and the frame, and the casing including an aperture positioned and located on a front side of the casing.
Oriol teaches a casing (see e.g., the tabs of the casing folded over and fastened to the top of the frame 3 in Fig. 1 of Oriol) coupled to the frame (3), the casing at least partially surrounding at least one of the T-washer (14) and the frame, and the casing including an aperture positioned and located on a front side of the casing (see Fig. 1 of Oriol, the T-washer (14) extends through the aperture in the casing and is coupled to the anchor thus showing that the casing partially surrounds the T-washer).
It 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 to have included a casing coupled to the frame, the casing at least partially surrounding at least one of the T-washer and the frame, and the casing including an aperture positioned and located on a front side of the casing according to the teachings of Orion in the fall arrest system disclosed by Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian in order to indicate a pretension in the cable (see e.g., para. [0025] of Orion).
Re claim 16, Miller et al. in view of Herik Van Den and further in view of Sperian fail to disclose the fall arrest system according to claim 14, wherein: the lower bracket further includes a casing coupled to the frame; the attenuator is positioned and located adjacent to the casing and adjacent to the T-washer; and the attenuator is compressed between the casing and the T-washer when the tension is applied to the cable.
Oriol teaches that the lower bracket further includes a casing coupled to the frame (see e.g., the tabs of the casing folded over and fastened to the top of the frame 3 in Fig. 1 of Oriol); the attenuator (spring in Fig. 1) is positioned and located adjacent to the casing and adjacent to the T-washer (14); and the attenuator is compressed between the casing and the T-washer when the tension is applied to the cable.
It 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 to have included that the lower bracket further includes a casing coupled to the frame; the attenuator is positioned and located adjacent to the casing and adjacent to the T-washer; and the attenuator is compressed between the casing and the T-washer when the tension is applied to the cable in order to indicate a pretension in the cable (see e.g., para. [0025] of Orion).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ben Pezzlo whose telephone number is (571)272-9656. The examiner can normally be reached M to Th 7 to 5.
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/B.A.P./Examiner, Art Unit 2418
/DANIEL P CAHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634