DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 25 March 2026 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 newly added paragraph after paragraph [0021] of the specification. Specifically, there is no support in the original disclosure for a single alternative embodiment of the wheel which includes “a spherical nipple sized to be fully received within the rim and formed with a keyway to receive a key when secured during assembly of the wheel” in combination with “the spherical nipple rotating within the rim to accommodate the angular positioning of a woven spoke” (emphasis added).
The newly added Figure 11. Specifically, there is no support in the original disclosure for a single embodiment of the wheel having the anchor, tube and nipple structure shown in combination with a spoke with a braided and/or woven fiber shaft as shown. Further, there is no support in the original disclosure for a spoke having the specific braid or weave pattern shown in Figure 11.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “rounded nipple” having “threading on an external body of the nipple that corresponds with threading on an internal surface of the plurality of nipple receivers” as set forth in claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). The only “rounded” nipple shown in the drawings (note Figs. 8, 9 and newly added Fig. 11, where the rounded nipple is labeled with reference character 500 in Fig. 8) does not have threading on an external body as claimed. Instead, it is shown to have internal threading that corresponds to external threading of a tube 170 that is received within the rounded nipple. No new matter should be entered.
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.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: The specification does not describe the claimed “nipple receivers” as set forth in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
5. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
6. Claims 1-3 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, there is no support in the original disclosure for “a rounded nipple connecting each of the plurality of flexible spoke assemblies to the rim and having threading on an external body of the nipple that corresponds with threading on an internal surface of the plurality of nipple receivers. The only “rounded” nipple disclosed (note Figs. 8, 9 and newly added Fig. 11, where the rounded nipple is labeled with reference character 500 in Fig. 8) does not have threading on an external body as claimed. Instead, it is shown to have internal threading that corresponds to external threading of a tube 170 that is received within the rounded nipple.
Moreover, regarding claim 1, there is no support in the original disclosure for the claimed nipple receivers and nipple structure (i.e., a plurality of nipple receivers located at each of the plurality of spoke holes on the rim” and the “rounded nipple” having “threading on an external body of the nipple that corresponds with threading on an internal surface of the plurality of nipple receivers”) being used in combination with “each of said plurality of flexible spoke assemblies comprises a braided fiber shaft” as required. Moreover, there is no support in the original disclosure for the claimed anchor structure (i.e., “formed with a bore to attach to the second end of each of the plurality of flexible spoke assemblies”) being used in combination with “each of said plurality of flexible spoke assemblies comprises a braided fiber shaft” as required. In other words, while Applicant’s drawings show embodiments with nipple structure and anchor structure, there is no support for Applicant’s claimed nipple structure and anchor structure being used with the claimed “braided fiber shaft” arrangement of claims 1-3 which is only disclosed in the incorporation by reference to US 5,110,190 (See lines 12-14 of page 3 of the specification).
Further, regarding claims 7-9, there is no support for the claimed hub structure and relationship between the anchor and hub structure (i.e., “the hub further comprises a right flange and a left flange”, “a plurality of flange holes that are distributed across the right flange and the left flange”, and “the anchor is configured to attached to a corresponding flange hole of the plurality of flange holes” being used in combination with “each of said plurality of flexible spoke assemblies comprises a braided fiber shaft” as required.
Response to Arguments
7. Applicant's arguments filed 25 March 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s argument that there is support for the rounded nipple in “Johnson Figures 2 and 3, as well as original Figures 8 and 9, and in the Specification in paragraphs [0047] through [0051]”, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, neither Figs. 2 and 3 of Johnson, nor Figs. 8 and 9 and the corresponding description in the instant application, disclose a “rounded nipple” having “threading on an external body of the nipple that corresponds with threading on an internal surface of the plurality of nipple receivers” as required by claim 1.
In response to Applicant’s generalized argument regarding the rejections under 35 USC 112, first paragraph, that “Applicant has set forth the detailed support for the claims”, the Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that Applicant has failed to point out where there is support for a single embodiment of the wheel that has the claimed “nipple receivers”, “rounded nipple” and “anchor” structure in combination with spoke assemblies that comprise “a braided fiber shaft”. As noted above, there is no support in the original disclosure, including the Johnson reference which was incorporated by reference, for spoke assemblies comprising “a braided fiber shaft” being used with the claimed “nipple receivers”, “rounded nipple” and “anchor” structure. Furthermore, there is no support in the original disclosure, including the Johnson reference which was incorporated by reference, for the newly claimed “rounded nipple” having “threading on an external body of the nipple that corresponds with threading on an internal surface of the plurality of nipple receivers” as required by claim 1.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIP T KOTTER whose telephone number is (571)272-7953. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-6 EST Monday-Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) J Morano can be reached at (571)272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kip T Kotter/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615