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 .
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.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
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) 52-63, 65-70 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bilal (WO2017197169).
Regarding claims 52 and 68-70, Bilal discloses wear member (104) for excavation equipment, the wear member comprising a digging end (701) for ground penetration and a cavity (702) defined by an internal surface that opens into a rear of the wear member, the cavity being configured for receiving a substantially correspondingly shaped support structure (203) of the excavation equipment and extending along the longitudinal axis (718) from an open end to the front end, the internal surface of the cavity (702) further comprising:
an upper wall (721a,c,e) and a lower wall (721b,d,g) each extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis from the open edge to the front end (Figure 7B); and
a front portion positioned adjacent the front end and a rear portion positioned adjacent the open end (Figure 7B);
at least one of the upper wall and the lower wall of the front portion including bearing surfaces for bearing against corresponding services of the support structure,
the front portion including:
two bearing surfaces (721a,721c) being inclined relative to one another and extending from one another, inclined bearing services extending in substantially the same direction as the longitudinal axis of the wear member (Figure 10), and
the rear portion including:
opposing central bearing services (706,707; 706 being a central bearing surface disposed in the upper wall – Figure 10) for bearing against corresponding services of the support structure (pgph 0062, 0069), and the opposing bearing services extends substantially in the direction of longitudinal axis
side bearing surfaces (721f,721h) extending in the direction from the front end to the open end and between the upper wall and the lower wall (Figure 10)
the support structure (203) comprising external surface defining an upper wall in the lower wall, and a front portion positioned adjacent front and in the rear portion positioned adjacent the open end of the rear member, the rear portion including surfaces having an octagonal shape in cross section (Figure 4A).
Regarding claim 53, the opposing bearing surfaces include a bearing surface positioned n the upper wall (706) that opposes a bearing surface positioned in the lower wall (707).
Regarding claim 54, the opposing bearing surfaces (706,707) of the rear portion extend in a different plane and are spaced from the inclined bearing surfaces of the front portion (Figure 7b).
Regarding claim 55, the plane of the opposing bearing surfaces extends laterally relative to the longitudinal axis.
Regarding claim 56, Bilal discloses side bearing surfaces (721f,721h) configured to bear against corresponding side walls of the support structure, and wherein the side bearing surfaces extend from the open end to the front end, and the upper wall and the lower wall are spaced apart by the side bearing surfaces.
Regarding claim 57, the opposing bearing surfaces of the rear portion (706,707) are configured as a central bearing surface disposed in the upper wall opposing a central bearing surface disposed in the lower wall (Figure 10), the central bearing surfaces being equally spaced in a lateral direction between the side bearing surfaces.
Regarding claim 58, the central bearing surfaces (706,707) are perpendicular to the side surfaces (Figure 10).
Regarding claim 59, the surfaces of the front portion include an end bearing surface generally laterally extending across the front end (Figure 7b – unnumbered).
Regarding claim 60, the front (720) and rear (722) portions are spaced apart by an intermediate portion (724) including non-bearing surfaces (pgph 0065, 0058 – surfaces corresponding to non bearing surfaces 216c, 216f of the support structure).
Regarding claim 61, the front portion further comprises a radiused transition region (721e + unnumbered radiused edges) extending between the inclined bearing surfaces (721a,721c).
Regarding claim 62, the radiused transition region (721e + unnumbered edges) of the front portion and the opposing bearing surfaces of the rear portion extends in line with one another and the longitudinal axis (Figure 10).
Regarding claim 63, the two inclined bearing surfaces (721a,721c) of the front portion are disposed in the upper wall (Figure 10), and the front portion further comprises two inclined bearing surfaces (721b,721d) disposed in the lower wall (Figure 10).
Regarding claims 65-66, the cavity is symmetrical about the longitudinal axis such that the wear member is mountable to the support structure in more than one orientation, with the second orientation being inverse to the first orientation (pgph 0085).
Regarding claim 67, the upper wall and the lower wall are identical and in opposing orientation.
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) 64 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bilal (WO2017197169) in view of Marchand (2014/0360062).
Regarding claim 64, Bilal discloses the invention as described above, but fails to disclose that the cross section of the front portion could be hexagonal. Like Bilal, Marchand also discloses a wear member for an excavating member that is mounted on a support surface that is octagonal. Unlike Bilal, Marchand further discloses that it is within the skill of one in the art to modify the wear member and support structure to have more or fewer sides such that the cross section is hexagonal, decagonal, dodecagonal, etc (pgphs 0069-0070). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a front portion with a hexagonal cross section in Bilal as taught by Marchand as it would be combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 USPQ2d 1385 (2007)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Carpenter (2007/0227051) discloses a wear member that transitions from an octagon shaped rear to a hexagon shaped portion (pgph 0009).
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/JAMIE L MCGOWAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671