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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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(s) 1-3 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et. al (US 9,482,449 B2) in view of Meyers (US 2,580,119).
With respect to claim 1 Cole discloses a bifurcated bearing housing for mounting photovoltaic (PV) modules to a support structure in a solar tracking system comprising: an upper component [reference characters 202 and 204] defining a first portion of a sphere that is configured to house a first portion of a spherical rotating bearing [reference character 230]; a lower component [reference character 200] defining a second portion of the sphere that is configured to house a second portion of the spherical rotating bearing, wherein when the upper and lower components are in an attached configuration, they define an aperture [see Fig. 11, the aperture contains the rotating spherical bearing].
Cole does not disclose a connection interface between the upper and lower components, wherein when the upper and lower components are in the attached configuration, the connection interface lies on a plane that does not intersect the aperture defined by the upper and lower components.
Meyers discloses a bearing mount that includes a connection interface [see annotate Fig. below] between upper and lower components [see annotated Fig. below], wherein when the upper and lower components are in the attached configuration, the connection interface lies on a plane that does not intersect the aperture defined by the upper and lower components [see annotated Fig. below].
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the bearing mount taught by Cole by forming the mount from two pieces, as taught by Meyers, where the connection interface lies on a plane that does not intersect with the aperture, in order to reduce the number of components and amount of required hardware.
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With respect to claim 2 the combination of Cole and Meyers discloses that the upper component includes a first mounting flange having a top surface and a bottom surface; the lower component includes a second mounting flange having a top surface and a bottom surface; and the connection interface is between the bottom surface of the first mounting flange and the top surface of the second mounting flange [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 3 the combination of Cole and Meyers disclose that the upper and lower mounting flanges extend laterally away from the aperture defined by the upper and lower components [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 7 Cole discloses that the upper component includes a curved edge that defines the aperture; and the curved edge that defines the aperture includes a hem [see annotated Fig. below].
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Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et. al (US 9,482,449 B2) in view of Meyers (US 2,580,119) and further in view of Werner et. al (US 2016/0218663 A1).
With respect to claim 4 Cole and Meyers do not disclose a first gusset at a transition between the first mounting flange and a portion of the upper component that defines the sphere.
Werner discloses a spherical bearing mount having a first gusset at a transition between the first mounting flange and a portion of the upper component that defines the sphere [see annotated Fig. below], and a second gusset between the second mounting flange and the lower component that defines the sphere.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art a the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the beating mount taught by Cole and Meyers by including the first and second gussets, as taught by Werner, in order to provide the upper and lower components with rigidity against bending.
With respect to claim 5 the combination of Cole, Meyers, and Werner disclose a second gusset at a transition between the second mounting flange and a portion of the lower component that defines the sphere, wherein the first and second gussets have sizes and shapes such that when the upper and lower components of the bearing housing are in the attached configuration, the first and second gussets align to allow a flush interface between the upper component and the lower component [see annotated Fig. above].
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et. al (US 9,482,449 B2) in view of Meyers (US 2,580,119) and further in view of Nelson (US 2,686,088).
With respect to claim 6 Cole and Meyers do not disclose the first mounting flange includes a first structural ridge that creates a concave feature in the bottom surface of the first mounting flange; the second mounting flange includes a second structural ridge that creates a convex feature in the top surface of the second mounting flange; and the concave feature in the bottom surface of the first mounting flange and the convex feature in the top surface of the second mounting flange are shaped such that when the upper and lower components of the bearing housing are in the attached configuration the concave and convex features align to allow a flush interface between the bottom surface of the first mounting flange and the top surface of the second mounting flange.
Nelson discloses a bearing mount that includes a first mounting flange includes a first structural ridge that creates a concave feature in the bottom surface of the first mounting flange [see annotated Fig. below]; the second mounting flange includes a second structural ridge that creates a convex feature in the top surface of the second mounting flange [see annotated Fig. below]; and the concave feature in the bottom surface of the first mounting flange and the convex feature in the top surface of the second mounting flange are shaped such that when the upper and lower components of the bearing housing are in the attached configuration the concave and convex features align to allow a flush interface between the bottom surface of the first mounting flange and the top surface of the second mounting flange [see annotated Fig. below].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify the bearing mount taught by Cole and Meyers by including a concave surface on the first mounting flange and a convex surface on the second mounting flange which alight to allow a flush interface between the first and second mounting flange, as taught by Nelson, in order to ensure alignment between the first and second mounting flange.
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Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven B McAllister can be reached at 571-272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762