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 .
Specification
The amendment filed October 19, 2023 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: The incorporation by.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
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 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin et al. (KR101777819B1, translation attached as KR101777819B1_KR_EN.pdf) hereinafter Jin and Insize (https://insizeindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CIRCUMFERENCE-TAPE_7114.pdf) hereinafter Insize.
Regarding claim 1, Jin discloses a conduit sealing system (Title, Abstract, Figure 1) for sealing a conduit having a through- hole (22 in Figure 1), through which an underground cable is inserted (Abstract: “having a hole through which the cable, the pipe, or the conduit penetrates”), formed therein, the conduit sealing system comprising:
a body (10 and 12 in Figure 1) made of an elastic material (Abstract) and inserted into the through-hole;
an adaptor (Abstract & 20 in Figure 1) which is made of an elastic material (Abstract) and has an outer surface in close contact with an inner surface of the body (paragraph [0029]: describes adapter 20 being inserted into the adapter insertion portion 14 of the unit body 12 and the adapter 20 and insertion portion 14 both of which are made from elastic material fitting tightly; 20, 14 and 12 in Figure 1) and an inner surface surrounding the underground cable (paragraph [0020]: “A through hole 22 for passing a cable, a pipe or a conduit 1 is formed on the inner surface of the adapter
20.”; 22 and 20 in Figure 1);
a front press plate (Abstract; paragraph [0032]: discusses front pressure plate; 30 in Figure 1) provided at one end portion (paragraph [0032]: “front surface”) of the body (paragraph [0032]: “body 10”; 10 in Figure 1);
a rear press plate (Abstract; paragraph [0032]: discusses rear pressure plate; 40 in Figure 1) provided at the other end portion (paragraph [0032]: “rear surface”) of the body (paragraph [0032]: “body 10”; 10 in Figure 1);
a fastener (paragraph [0033]: combination of bolts 50, nuts 52) which is inserted to pass through the body (10 in Figure 1), the front press plate (30 in Figure 1), and the rear press plate (40 in Figure 2) and presses the front press plate and the rear press plate to press the body and the adaptor (paragraph [0033]: describes the fastened bolt 50 and nut 52 combination passing through front press plate 30, rear press plate 40, body 10 and adapter 20 pressing on the body and adapter).
Jin however does not disclose an adaptor selector which measures an outer diameter size of the underground cable inserted into the through-hole and selects the adaptor suitable for the measured outer diameter size of the underground cable.
Insize teaches a diameter/circumference measuring tape (“Measure diameter and circumference of pipes, trees, tires, etc.”, Annotated figure 1) which can be used to measure circumference and outer diameter size of any circular body including cables.
The claimed invention does not claim the diameter measuring adaptor selector as being a physically integrated component of the sealing system. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the diameter measuring tape of Insize to measure outer diameter of the cable so that a suitable adapter matching the outer cable diameter can be selected to make sure a snug fit between the adapter and inserted cable to avoid any void space between the inserted cable and the adapter.
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Annotated figure 1
Regarding claim 2, Jin in view of Insize discloses a conduit sealing system according to claim 1 as set forth above. Insize further discloses, the adaptor selector (circumference/ diameter measuring tape) includes:
a selector body forming an exterior and having a check mark hole formed at one end portion thereof (“Check mark hole” in Annotated figure 1, Sub-figure B), wherein the other end portion thereof wound around the underground cable is inserted into the check mark hole to measure the outer diameter size of the underground cable (Annotated figure 1, Sub-figure C: shows use mechanism);
and a plurality of cable information displays which are displayed on the one surface of the selector body (Annotated figure 1, Sub-figure A: information about cable circumference and diameter displayed on the measuring tape or adaptor selector) and display information about the underground cable.
While the measuring tape of Insize does not explicitly display a direct part-selection or adapter-selection information on it, it already teaches the concept of circumference to diameter conversion. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to filing date of the claimed invention to modify the tape of Jin in view of Insize to add plurality of adaptor information for selecting a suitable adaptor that matches the outer diameter of the underground cable eliminate the need for using an additional conversion chart or nee for measurement of the inner diameter of the adaptor.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin in view of Insize as applied to claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 3, Jin in view of Insize discloses a conduit sealing system according to claim 2 as set forth above. Insize further discloses a cable diameter measuring tape/ adaptor selector which has one end portion wider than the other (Annotated figure 1 Sub-figure A: shows end portions having different width) and which will provide information on the diameter of the cable and relevant information on adaptor to choose, through a window or display positioned in the check mark hole (Annotated figure 1, Sub-figure C: shows information window on the measuring tape).
Jin in view of Insize does not disclose about the measuring tape/ adaptor selector being trapezoidal shape. Having one end of the diameter measuring tape wider compared to the other end (Annotated figure 1 Sub-figure: shows end portions having different width) as disclosed by Insize will make sliding of tape body through the check mark hole (Annotated figure 1, Sub-figure C: shows information window on the measuring tape) easier and less prone to friction. The applicant has not disclosed any particular criticality of function or advantage of having a trapezoidal shape of the adapter selector body (Instant application specification Page 4, line 1-5 and Page 13, line 3-4 mention about trapezoidal shape of selector body, but no criticality of function for such shape is specified). Regarding the trapezoidal shape of adapter selector, the courts have held that a change in shape alone, without demonstration of the criticality of a specific limitation, may be considered obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966), MPEP § 2144.04-IV-B. Hence, at the time the invention was made, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art. One of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the applicant’s invention to perform the same function equally well with the adapter selector disclosed by Jin in view of Insize.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin in view of Insize as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Simmons (US5884408A), Poole (US20120233893A1) and Burr (US20100251556A1).
Regarding claim 4, Jin in view of Insize discloses a conduit sealing system with adaptor selector/measuring tape displaying information about cable and adapter diameters according to claim 2 as set forth above. Jin in view of Insize however does not disclose the adaptor selector/measuring tape being and adapters being color coded based on diameter dimension and adapters having additional relevant information displayed on them.
Simmons teaches different embodiments of graduated measuring devices with color-coded indicia (“Summary of invention” in Column 1, line 33 – 43: describes about the color-coded graduated measuring device; Figure 1 – 5: shows different embodiments of graduated measuring devices). Poole teaches about color coded fastener parts and tools (paragraphs [0025-0026]: summarizing about color coding parts and tools, Figure 3A: a tool comprising a socket having a color code marking, Figure 3B: a tool comprising a wrench having a color code marking). Burr teaches about thread gages comprising plugs and ring gages with identifying numbers/ dimensions written on them (paragraph [0030]: “The thread identifying numbers of the individual gauges embodied as separate plug and ring gauges match the thread identifying numbers of the individual plug and ring gauges mounted upon the thread checker structure”; Figure 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to filing date of the claimed invention to modify the adapter selector display of Jin in view of Insize to add color coding corresponding to different sizes using the teaching of Simmons, to modify the adapters to add coloring or color-codes using the teaching of Poole and to add model, size or any additional identifying information on the adapters using the teaching of Burr. Making such modifications will add additional visual cues and make it faster and less prone to error for direct part selection.
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Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin in view of Insize as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Roxtec (https://www.powerandcables.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Roxtec-H3-UG-Substation-Cable-Pipe-Sealing-Installation-Instructions.pdf) hereinafter Roxtec.
Regarding claim 5, Jin in view of Insize discloses a conduit sealing system according to claim 1 as set forth above. Jin in view of Insize does not explicitly disclose a press check hole on the front press plate to check a pressed state of the body and the adaptor pressed with a pressure in a preset pressure range; and in a process of pressing the front press plate and the rear press plate through the fastener, when the body made of the elastic material protrudes outward from the press check hole, the body and adaptor are pressed with the pressure in the preset pressure range.
Roxtec teaches a press check hole (Annotated figure 2, Step 11: “Front fitting holes”) on the front press plate (Annotated figure 2, Step 11: “Front press plate”) to check for a pressed state (Page 3, Signs of compressed seal: Step 12) of the body, adapter and the press plates and, demonstrates that the body made of elastic material bulges out/protrudes through the press check hole (Page 3, Signs of compressed seal: “The seal is compressed when the rubber expands through the fittings and when the inner part bulges”; Annotated figure 2, Step 12: “Bulge”) when the body and adapter are pressed with preset pressure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the front plate of the cable sealing device of Jin in view of Insize to incorporate a press-check hole as taught by Roxtec to check for compressed seal between the different components of the cable sealing device. This modification will eliminate the need for an additional press-check device.
Claim 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roxtec in view of Jin and Insize.
Regarding claim 6, Roxtec discloses a method of installing a conduit sealing system, the method comprising steps:
operation A of removing foreign materials on an outer surface of an underground cable disposed in an entrance of a conduit and foreign materials inside the conduit.
Roxtec teaches the step of removing any dirt from sleeve or hole prior to running pipes/ cables through (Page 3, Step 2: “Remove any dirt from the sleeve/ hole.”).
operation B of measuring an outer diameter size of the underground cable disposed in the entrance of the conduit using an adaptor selector and selecting an adaptor suitable for the underground cable.
Roxtec discloses a concept of ensuring a good fit of cable in hole through which cables will run through by adapting the rubber layers inside the holes (Page 3, Step 5: “Adapt rubber layers to fit the cables”) but does not explicitly disclose the step of measuring an outer diameter size of the underground cable and selecting an adaptor suitable for the measured underground cable.
Insize teaches a diameter or circumference measuring tape/ adapter selector (Annotated figure 1: “Measure diameter and circumference of pipes, trees, tires, etc.”) which can be used to measure circumference and outer diameter size of any circular body including cables. Jin teaches a conduit sealing system (Title, Abstract, Figure 1) for sealing a conduit having an adaptor (Abstract; paragraph [0029]: describes adapter 20 being inserted into the adapter insertion portion 14 & 20 in Figure 1) as set forth above in claim 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process step of Roxtec in light of Insize to add a cable measuring step using the device and process taught by Insize for choosing a correct size adapter for a cable sealing device taught by Jin to ensure good fit of cables inside the adapters and good fit of the adapters inside the body of the sealing system.
operation C of applying a lubricant on an outer surface of the adaptor, an inner surface of a body in contact with the outer surface of the adaptor, and an inner surface of the adaptor in contact with an outer surface of the underground cable.
Roxtec disclose the process step of lubricating all part parts of the seal all around (Page 3, Step 7: “Lubricate the three parts of the seal all around”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the step of lubrication to lubricate on an outer surface of the adaptor, an inner surface of a body in contact with the outer surface of the adaptor, and an inner surface of the adaptor in contact with an outer surface of the underground cable to ensure a minimal-friction movement of cables through the adapter and an airtight sealing between the body and the adapter and the adapter and the cable.
operation D of mounting the adaptor on the body.
Roxtec does not disclose the process step of mounting adaptor to the body of the conduit sealing system as the conduit sealing system of Roxtec does not contain an adapter.
Jin teaches a conduit sealing system (Title, Abstract, Figure 1) for sealing a conduit having an adaptor (Abstract; paragraph [0029]: describes adapter 20 being inserted into the adapter insertion portion 14 & 20 in Figure 1) and further teaches the process (paragraph [0033] – explains the process, Figure 1-shows an exploded view of different component of the sealing system where the adapters 20 will be mounted on the body components 10 and 12 when assembled) of mounting the adapter (20 in Figure 1) on the body (10 and 12 in Figure 1);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a step to the installation process disclosed by Roxtec of mounting the adapters to the body of a conduit sealing system such as taught by Jin to ensure proper assembly of the system.
operation E of temporarily assembling the body on which the adaptor is mounted and a front press plate and a rear press plate provided on a front surface and a rear surface of the body into a conduit sealing assembly using a fastener.
Roxtec discloses the process step of temporarily assembling the cable/conduit sealing system (Page 3, Step 7: screwing the bolts loosely) to assemble the body (Annotated figure 2, Step 4: “Body”) in between the front plate (Annotated figure 2, Step 4: “Front press plate”) and the rear plate (Annotated figure 2, Step 4: “Rear press plate”) using a fastener (Annotated figure 2, Step 4: “Screw”). While the body disclosed by Roxtec does not have an adapter mounted on it, the body of the conduit sealing system taught by Jin contains adapters mounted on the body as set forth above in operation D. Implementing the step of temporary assembly disclosed by Roxtec for a sealing system with adapters mounted on its body would have occurred as an “obvious to try” step to one of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to temporarily assemble the different components of the sealing system taught by Jin as a matter of routine optimization and fit and position check step to make sure the sealing system including the cables are properly assembled and placed before the final step of installing the system.
operation F of inserting the temporarily assembled conduit sealing assembly into the conduit;
Roxtec discloses the process step of inserting the temporarily assembled conduit sealing assembly into the conduit (Page 3, Step 8: inserting the seal into the system, Step 9: press all parts of the seal into the seal, Step 10: use rubber hammer to push the seal segments into the wall if needed).
and
operation G of tightening the fastener provided in the conduit sealing assembly inserted into the conduit with a pressure in a preset pressure range.
Roxtec discloses the process step of tightening the screws/ fasteners (Page 3, Step 11: “Tighten the screws crosswise one turn at a time”) provided in the conduit sealing assembly inserted into the conduit with a pressure in a preset pressure range that would ensure a compressed seal.
Regarding claim 7, Roxtec in view of Jin and Insize discloses a method of installing a conduit sealing system comprising a step of tightening the fastener provided in the conduit sealing system assembly according to claim 6 operation G as set forth above.
Roxtec further discloses about a press check hole (Annotated figure 2, Step 11: Front fitting holes) on the front press plate (Annotated figure 2, Step 11: Front press plate) to check for a pressed state (Page 3, Signs of compressed seal: Step 12) of the body, adapter and the press plates and, demonstrates that the body made of elastic material bulges out/protrudes through the press check hole (Page 3, Signs of compressed seal: “The seal is compressed when the rubber expands through the fittings and when the inner part bulges” ; Annotated figure 2, Step 12: Bulge) when the body and adapter are pressed with preset pressure. Roxtec does not explicitly mention about the protrusion/ bulging needing to be further than the front press plate to ensure a compressed seal.
As seen in Annotated figure 2, Step 12, the extent of protrusion/bulging of the compressible body through the press-check hole/ front fitting hole can be controlled by tightening or loosening of the screws/fasteners. It appears that one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in figuring out correlation between the extent of protrusion and the required amount of pressure range to ensure a compressed seal. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to try creating a range of protrusion through the press check hole by torquing the screws to create required amount of pressure as a matter of routine optimization since it has been held that “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US20120266409A1 discloses a modularized pipe or cable sealing module made from compressible material with a through hole provided with sheets of material which may be removed to accommodate cables or pipes of different diameters.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAISAL AHMED whose telephone number is (571)270-0113. The examiner can normally be reached Tue, Wed 9:00am-7:00pm and Thurs 8:30am-2:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, Craig M Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607 or Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at (571) 272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FAISAL AHMED/ Examiner, Art Unit 3753
/CRAIG M SCHNEIDER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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