DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I and Species 1 in the reply filed on 22 November 2024 is acknowledged.
Claims 4 – 6 and 8 – 10 (pertaining to a non-elected species due to the spacers) and Claim 7 (pertaining to a non-elected species due to the conductive aqueous solution reactive polymer) are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention and Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding Claim 1, “an aqueous solution” in the 12th line should read “the aqueous solution” or “said aqueous solution”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1 and 3 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raymond (US 2012/0098555), in view of Tausch et al. (WO 90/10208). Citations pertaining to Tausch refer to the attached English translation.
Regarding Claim 1, Raymond discloses a leak detection cable, in at least Figures 1A and 1B, comprising: a feedback wire (116, 120) (two separate conductors can be considered a wire e.g. twisted pair wire) (Figure 1B) having feedback conductors (134, 144) and insulators (132, 146) surrounding said feedback conductors (Figure 1B); sensor wires (110, 112) (Figure 1B) disposed adjacent to said insulators and separated by said insulators (Figure 1B), said sensor wires having a uniform resistance per unit of length (wires have a uniform resistance per unit length to some degree); a compressible conductive covering (106) [0031] that surrounds said feedback wire and said sensor wires that is placed over said feedback wire and said sensor wire so that a gap is formed between said compressible conductive covering and said sensor wires (at least gap formed by 108, 114, 118) (Figure 1B); a reactive polymer (104) that expands in the presence of certain fluids that surrounds said compressible conductive covering [0031]; a non-expandable permeable cover (102) [0029] surrounding said reactive polymer that is permeable to an aqueous solution and directs forces from expansion of said reactive polymer [0031], as a result of absorption of said certain fluids, in an inward direction which causes said compressible conductive covering to move inwardly towards said sensor wires and contact said sensor wires to create electrical conduction between said sensor wires where said reactive polymer expands [0031].
Raymond teaches the reactive polymer expands in the presence of hydrocarbons [0022], rather than an aqueous solution.
Tausch teaches leakage cables can be modified according to fluid intended to be located by using materials which swell in their presence e.g. silicone in the presence of hydrocarbons and cellulose in the presence of aqueous liquids (Page 4).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention to modify Raymond by replacing the reactive polymer with one that expands in the presence of an aqueous solution e.g. cellulose for the benefit of detecting leakage of aqueous liquids, as taught by Tausch (Page 4).
Regarding Claim 3, Raymond discloses said compressible conductive covering comprises a conductive tube (Figure 1A).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raymond (US 2012/0098555), in view of Tausch et al. (WO 90/10208), in further view of McNab (GB 2276766) .
Regarding Claim 2, the combination fails to expressly disclose said compressible conductive covering comprises a conductive fabric braid.
McNab teaches a compressible conductive covering (2) comprising a conductive fabric braid (Page 2).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s invention to modify the combination by having the conductive covering comprise a conductive fabric braid for the benefit of an alternative configuration known in the art to enable a compressive conductive covering to complete an electrical connection with a central conductor under force and enable an engineer to map the cable, as taught by McNab (Page 2).
Conclusion
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ALEXANDER A. MERCADO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
/ALEXANDER A MERCADO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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