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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1, Claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 12/02/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim 12 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group 2, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/02/2025.
The restriction requirement has been made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 8, the claim recites the tubular body has an outer diameter substantially equal to the segments of the through-orifice but do not recite what from the segments is equal to the body’s outer diameter. For example, it could be width, thickness, dimension or shape. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be uncertain the metes and bonds of Claim 8, which renders Claim 8 indefinite.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gruen (EP 2230409 A1)
Regarding Claim 1, Gruen teaches a tubular insert for attachment (Abstract) comprising a tubular body that has an axis of revolution and inner and outer cylindrical faces that are coaxial with each other and with the axis of revolution, and first and second annular terminal faces connecting the inner and outer cylindrical faces (Fig. 1). Gruen teaches tabs, where each tab (Item 6,13, 6,14) that has a first end connected to the tubular body and a second end at a distance from the first end, the first and second ends substantially parallel to the axis of revolution of the tubular, the tab configured to move between a deployed position in which the second end is moved away from the tubular body and a retracted position in when the second end is position at the tubular body (Paragraph 0024; Fig. 1) Gruen teaches the tubular body comprises a cutout delimiting the tab and an opening when the corresponding tab is in the deployed position. (Fig. 1)
Regarding Claim 2, Gruen teaches a plurality of tabs distributed around the tubular body. (Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 3, Gruen teaches the tubular material is made of plastic, a material that display some elastic properties. (Abstract). Gruen teaches the deployed position of the tabu corresponds to the rest position and the retracted position corresponding to an elastic deformation of the tab (Fig. 1; Paragraph 0024).
Regarding Claim 4, Gruen teaches at least one of the first and second terminal faces comprises at least one indentation configured to make the tubular insert pivot on itself. (Fig. 1, Item 17).
Claims 1, 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 2009/0220320 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Zhang teaches a tubular insert (Abstract; Fig. 1) comprising a tubular body that has an axis of revolution and inner and outer cylindrical faces that are coaxial with each other and with the axis of revolution, and first and second annular terminal faces connecting the inner and outer cylindrical faces. (Claim 1 of Zhang; Fig. 1-2). Zhang teaches tabs that has first end connected to the tubular body and a second end at a distance from the first end, the first and second ends substantially parallel to the axis of revolution of the tubular, the tab configured to move between a deployed position in which the second end is moved away from the tubular body and a retracted position in when the second end is position at the tubular body (Fig. 2-4, Item 24, 22) Gruen teaches a tubular body comprises a cutout for each tab delimiting the tab and an opening when the corresponding tab is in the deployed position. (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 2, Zhang teaches a plurality of tabs distributed around the tubular body (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 5, Zhang teaches a solid wall sleeve, push-in part, fitted into the tubular body. (Item 32; Paragraph 0031)
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.
Claims 6-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang.
Regarding Claim 6, Zhang teaches a sandwich component having a honeycomb core, a cellular structure. (Abstract). Zhang teaches applying a tubular insert of Claim 1 into a through-orifice of the sandwich component. (Claim 1; Fig 2) Zhang teaches applying two outer skins, first and second outer walls, to the outer surfaces of the honeycomb core to further strengthen sandwich components. (Paragraph 0002-0003). Thus, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to apply the two walls to the honeycomb in order to strength the resulting sandwich component.
Regarding Claim 7, Zhang teaches the through-orifice comprises first and second segments at the first and second outer walls, and wherein the tubular insert has a transverse section greater than that of the first and second segments of the through-orifice when each tab is in the deployed position and a transverse section smaller than the section of the first and second segments of the through-orifice when each tab is in the retracted position. (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 9, Zhang teaches a sandwich panel as discussed above, which would inherently have a thickness. Zhang shows the tubular body’s height is about the same thickness as the cellular structure of the sandwich panel. (Fig. 2). As Zhang teaches the outer walls are very thin (Paragraph 0002-0003), then the tubular body would have a height substantially equal to the thickness of the sandwich panel.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 11 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.
The closest prior art to Claim 10 is Bradley et al. (US 20170037886A1). Bradley teaches a fastener with tabs comprising upper and lower edges that are parallel to the each other connecting the first and second ends, where the upper and lower edges being approximately equal to the thickness of the honeycomb. However, Bradley does not specifically teach the cutout with regard to the tabs.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0358. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday: 9:30am-3:30pm, 8:30PM-10:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Frank Vineis can be reached at (571) 270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Zhang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781