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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 of US Application No. 18/472,807, filed on 22 September 2023, are currently pending and have been examined. Applicant amended claims 1-17 and added claims 18-20 via preliminary amendment.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 22 September 2023 has been considered. An initialed copy of form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Richter (US 2021/0355989 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Richter discloses a journal bearing with offset bores for centering misaligned pin and teaches:
a base mechanically attached in a fixed manner to the support and having a central hole (shear plate 18 having counterbore 62 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0019]);
a first positioning device, provided with a first body mounted in the central hole of the base and having a first off-centered hole relative to the central hole (journal bearing 34 having outer bushing 44 and outer bore 52 – see at least Fig. 4 and ¶ [0024]; outer bore 52 is offset with respect to axis R-R by misalignment distance 60– see at least Fig. 4 and ¶ [0024]; opening 32 of shear plate 18 includes center axis A-A that is concentric with R-R – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0019]), and with a first notched wheel mechanically attached to the first body (circular lower surface 138 having tabs 136 disposed thereon – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0033]) and configured to rotate the first body relative to the base when the first notched wheel is actuated (tabs provide a surface for operator to grasp – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0033]; operator rotates the outer bushing via tabs 136 – see at least Fig. 7 and ¶ [0033], [0035]);
a second positioning device, provided with a second body mounted in the first off-centered hole of the first positioning device and having a second off-centered hole relative to the central hole and non-concentric with the first off-centered hole (inner bushing 46 defining an inner bore 54 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0019]; inner bore 54 of inner bushing 46 is offset relative to R-R by misalignment distance 60 – see at least Fig. 5 and ¶ [0027]; misalignment directions of outer bore 52 and inner bore 54 may be different, i.e., bores 52 and 54 may be non-concentric), and with a second notched wheel mechanically attached to the second body (circular lower surface 132 having tabs 130 disposed thereon – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0033]) and configured to rotate the second body when the second notched wheel is actuated (operator rotates the inner bushing via tabs 130 – see at least Fig. 7 and ¶ [0033], [0035]);
with the first positioning device and the second positioning device which are mounted fixed in translation relative to the base (bushing retainers 50 clamp journal bearing 34 against shear plate 18 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0034]) and which are configured to position, along a first direction and along a second direction different from the first direction, an interface member of the movable part which is mounted in the second off-centered hole of the second body of the second positioning device and which is mechanically attached to the positioning mechanism (rotate inner bore 54 and outer bore 44 relative to one another to center an inner periphery 78 of an inner bushing 46 around misaligned pin – see at least ¶ [0020]; pin guide 48 receives misaligned pin 30 – see at least ¶ [0030]; misaligned pin 30 located on rack support 24 – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0018]).
Regarding claim 2, Richter further teaches:
wherein the first positioning device is provided with recesses arranged in the first body (space between tabs 136 – see at least Fig. 2) and with clamping jaws movably mounted in the recesses (bushing retainers 50 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0034]).
Regarding claim 3, Richter further teaches:
wherein the clamping jaws are configured to lock the second body of the second positioning device in position (bushing retainers clamp outer bushing 44, inner bushing 46, and pin guide 48 against shear plate 18 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0034]).
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.
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.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richter in view of Wikipedia (https://web.archive.org/web/20230127074736/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrench).
Regarding claim 12, Richter fails to teach but Wikipedia discloses a wrench used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects and teaches:
a first operating key configured to allow the rotation of the first notched wheel of the first positioning device and a second operating key configured to allow the rotation of the second notched wheel of the second positioning device (wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts – see first paragraph; spanner wrench with one or several pins or hooks designed to drive threaded collars, retainer rings, shafts, etc. – see Types).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the journal bearing of Richter to provide operating keys, such as a spanner wrench as taught by Wikipedia, with a reasonable expectation of success because the spanner wrench would provide the user with additional grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn the inner and outer bushings (Wiki at paragraph 1).
Claims 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Allender (US 2018/0057111 A1) in view of Richter.
Regarding claim 13, Allender discloses a bulwark terrace with integrated door and teaches:
a positioning mechanism (terrace hinge mechanism 274 having a rotational shaft rigidly connected with an interior framework, i.e., a pivot shaft/pin, and a mechanical interface that permits the hinge mechanism 274 to be mounted to the boat hull thus letting the rotational shaft to rotate relative to the hull – see at least Fig. 10 and ¶ [0056]);
and which is configured to adjust a movable part of the seafaring vehicle in position relative to a support of the seafaring vehicle, between a deployed position where the movable part is at a distance from the support (bulwark terrace in deployed position – see at least Fig. 13 and ¶ [0046]) and a retracted configuration where the movable part is located flush with the support (bulwark terrace in closed position – see at least Fig. 11 and ¶ [0046]; bulwark terrace is flush with an outboard surface of the bulwark when the bulwark terrace reaches a second limit of rotation – see at least ¶ [0009]).
Allender fails to teach but Richter teaches:
a positioning mechanism according to any one of claims 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bulwark terrace with integrated door of Allender with the positioning mechanism of claim 1, as taught by Richter, with a reasonable expectation of success because the mechanism of Richter would allow for adjusting lateral misalignment between a pin and a plate and removing pre-load forces due to pin misalignment (Richter at abstract and ¶ [0016]).
Regarding claim 14, Allender further teaches:
wherein the movable part is a movable bulwark of the seafaring vehicle and the support is a hull of the seafaring vehicle (bulwark terrace having a terrace hinge mechanism 274 with a rotational shaft rigidly connected with an interior framework, i.e., a pivot shaft/pin, and a mechanical interface that permits the hinge mechanism 274 to be mounted to the boat hull thus letting the rotational shaft to rotate relative to the hull – see at least Fig. 10 and ¶ [0056]).
Regarding claim 15, Richter further teaches:
wherein between the retracted position and the deployed position, or respectively the open position and the closed position of the bulwark, the latter bulwark is coupled around an interface member of the bulwark mounted in the second off-centered hole of the second body of the second positioning device (pin guide 48 receives misaligned pin 30 – see at least ¶ [0030]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bulwark terrace with integrated door of Allender to provide an interface member, as further taught by Richter, with a reasonable expectation of success because the interface member would allow for receiving the misaligned pin in order to adjust lateral misalignment between a pin and a plate and removing pre-load forces due to pin misalignment (Richter at abstract and ¶ [0016]).
Regarding claim 16, Allender further teaches:
the bulwark is provided with a hinge axis about which the bulwark pivots
Richter further teaches:
wherein the mechanism is mechanically attached by the base to the hull of the [ ] vehicle (shear plate 18 is part of the support structure of the vehicle – see at least Fig. 1 and ¶ [0018]) and [ ] a hinge axis (misaligned pin has a center axis C-C – see at least ¶ [0023]) , said hinge axis being inserted into the interface member (pin guide 48 receives misaligned pin 30 – see at least ¶ [0030]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bulwark terrace with integrated door of Allender to provide for attaching the base to the hull and inserting a hinge axis into the interface member, as further taught by Richter, with a reasonable expectation of success because the base and interface member would allow for receiving the misaligned pin in order to adjust lateral misalignment between a pin and a plate and removing pre-load forces due to pin misalignment (Richter at abstract and ¶ [0016]).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Allender in view of Richter, as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Brunner et al. (US 2021/0332627 A1, “Brunner”).
Regarding claim 17, Richter further teaches:
wherein the interface member includes a support flange mounted on the mechanism (body of pin guide 48 is seated against shar plate 18 – see at least Fig. 2 and ¶ [0034]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bulwark terrace with integrated door of Allender to provide a support flange, as further taught by Richter, with a reasonable expectation of success because the interface member would allow for receiving the misaligned pin in order to adjust lateral misalignment between a pin and a plate and removing pre-load forces due to pin misalignment (Richter at abstract and ¶ [0016]).
Allender and Richter fail to teach but Brunner discloses a door with spherical bearing and pin and teaches:
a ball joint (spherical bearing 34 – see at least Fig. 7 and ¶ [0024]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combined bulwark terrace with integrated door of Allender and Richter to provide a ball joint, as taught by Brunner, with a reasonable expectation of success because a ball joint would provide the pivot pin with some degree of freedom of axial tilt (Brunner at ¶ [0024]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-11 and 18-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON L TROOST whose telephone number is (571)270-5779. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm.
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/AARON L TROOST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3666