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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 8/3/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 7-10 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/3/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Per 37 C.F.R. 1.84(l) all lines, numerals, and letters should be clean, durable, black, and well defined. The lines in figure 5 are all blurry, pixelated, and grey and thus are not in keeping with the drawing standards.
Figure 1 shows the soft component 17 as a small circular area on a small portion of the circumference of the base body 2 while figure 2 shows the soft component as extending around at least half (the visible half in side view) of the circumference. As such it is unclear where the soft component is located or how much area it covers. Examiner notes paragraph [0060] indicates the soft component is arranged circumferentially, which would appear to be in keeping with figure 2.
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 Objections
Claims 3 and 4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 3 lines 3 recites “the connecting element” and “the counter-connecting element”. The connecting/counter-connecting elements are not previously recited in claim 1, from which claim 3 depends; only in claim 2. As such the appropriate antecedent is “a” not “the”.
Claim 4 line 3 recites “a carrier component”. The carrier component is previously recited in claim 1, from which claim 4 depends, and as such the proper antecedent is “the”.
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US patent 7997437 to Jatzke (hereinafter Jatzke) in view of US patent 4275815 to Davis as motivated by US patent 10486310 to Kossmann (hereinafter Kossmann).
Regarding claim 1, the closure element is shown in Jatzke in figures 1-3 with
a plate-shaped, circular, base body (12), made of a hard component, with a cover side (lower side figure 2) and a closure side (upper side figure 2), and
a soft component (14) for sealing against a carrier component, which is arranged on the closure side (upper side figure 2).
While Jatzke shows a protruding structure (20), Jatzke is silent as to structures specifically used for connecting a stack
Stacking connection structures are shown in Davis in figures 1-6 with a closure element having a plate like base body (10) with a structure (16,18) formed on one side (upper side figure 3) and a counter-structure (20) corresponding to the structure correspondingly formed on the other side (lower side figure 3), so that at least two closure elements can be connected to one another in a stack-like manner (figure 6) by coupling the structure (16,18) of a first closure element (lower element figure 6) to the counter-structure (20) of a further closure element (upper element figure 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the closure element of Jatzke with the stacking connection structures of Davis because the connection structures facilitate nestable stacking as taught in Davis in column 3 lines 1-5 and stacking is desirable in the closure element area to facilitate assembly using a robot as shown in Kossmann in figures 1 and 2 where closure elements (2) are stacked to be placed in openings in a vehicle by a robot tool.
Regarding claim 2, the structure (16,18) is an annular connecting element with a receiving recess for receiving the counter- structure (20), and the counter-structure (20) is a cylindrical (at least partially, figure 1) counter connecting element, the connecting element and the counter connecting element are configured such that the connecting element can be held in the counter connecting element of a further closure element in the manner of a plug or socket connection in Davis.
Regarding claim 3, the structure (16,18) is a retaining element, the counter-structure being of a corresponding design, and the connecting element and the counter-connecting element being designed in such a way that the connecting element can be retained in the counter-connecting element of a further closure element in Davis.
Regarding claim 4, a circular- cylindrical latching device with a radially circumferential latching edge (edges of 20) is integrally formed on the base body (12) on the closure side (upper side figure 2) for retention in an opening of a carrier component in Jatzke.
Regarding claim 5, the soft component (14) is formed in the shape of a circular ring and is arranged on a radially outer edge of the base body (12) in Jatzke.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jatzke and Davis, as motivated by Kossmann, as applied to claim 1 (as well as claims 2-5) above, and further in view of US patent 9309972 to Sato (hereinafter Sato).
Regarding claim 6, Jatzke does not teach stiffening ribs.
Stiffening ribs are shown in Sato in figures 1-6 where closure element (14) has stiffening ribs (35) formed on the cover side and/or closure side.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the closure element of Jatzke, having the stacking connection structures of Davis as motivated by Kossmann, with the stiffening ribs of Sato because stiffening ribs provided the known benefit of increased structural rigidity.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE A KELLY whose telephone number is (571)270-3660. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anita Coupe can be reached at 571-270-3614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CATHERINE A KELLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3619
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