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 .
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 magnetic coupling elements that are between end cap and outer sheath, as disclosed in claim 21, which is not supported by the drawings since they show the elements to be exterior to the end cap, must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. 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.
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.
Claims 19-27 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.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "the holder" in the last line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since claim 19 does not disclose a holder, only that the holding section configured to engage with a holder. Claims 20-17 depend on claim 19 are rejected as well.
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.
Claims 16, 17, 18, 28,29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boxberger (US 10993505 B1), hereafter known as Boxberger, in view of Nordson Corporation’s product “SureBead Applicator”, as shown in their product video “A Look Inside the SureBead Applicator from Nordson”, their documents “SureBead A Automatic Guns Customer Product Manual” and “SureBead Module Replacement Instruction Sheet”, hereafter known as SureBead, in further view of Keough (US 20180017200 A1), hereafter known as Keough. A labeled screenshot from SureBead’s product video is included below.
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Labeled screenshot from 0:28 of SureBead video
Regarding claim 16, Boxberger discloses a fastening system for fastening an article to a heating hose (fig 1, fastening system 10, which can be used to fasten an article to a heating hose, Boxberger),
wherein the fastening system has a heating hose for conducting a flowable medium and a holder connected to the article to be fastened (not disclosed),
wherein the heating hose has an inlet end and an outlet end for the flowable medium (not disclosed),
wherein the heating hose has an end cap at the outlet end and/or at the inlet end (not disclosed),
wherein the heating hose has a holding section for the holder in the region of the end cap (not disclosed, although Boxberger discloses holding section, which is lower fastener 13),
wherein the holder has one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic coupling elements (fig 1, upper fastener 11 has permanently magnetic coupling elements, Boxberger),
wherein the holding section has one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements (fig 1, lower fastener 13 has permanently magnetic coupling elements, Boxberger),
wherein the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic coupling elements and the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements are arranged such that, when the holder is arranged on the holding section, the holder is held magnetically on the heating hose by means of the magnetic force between the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic coupling elements and the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements (fig 1, fasteners 11 (holder) and 13 (holding section) are held onto each other by magnetic forces from the permanently magnetic elements, Boxberger) as a result of which the article connected to the holder is fastened to the heating hose (not disclosed).
Boxberger does not disclose a heating hose with inlet and outlet, an end cap, the heating hose having a holding section, or the fastener connecting an article to the heating hose. However, SureBead teaches a hose with inlet, outlet, and end cap (0:28, hose extending from the right has inlet on the right, outlet on the left, and end cap, SureBead). SureBead is a product video for a adhesive dispensing device, a field closely related to the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to incorporate the teachings of SureBead into Boxberger and use the fastener of Boxberger to connect the solenoid valve and hose end cap of SureBead together. The fastener of Boxberger would provide more support for the valve, and make installation of the valve and hose easier, as one can be held in place by the other while making the fluid connections. After the modification, the end cap of SureBead would have the bottom fastener 13 of Boxberger attached to it as the holding section, and the solenoid valve of SureBead would have the top fastener 11 of Boxberger attached to it as the article holder.
Boxberger in view of SureBead does not disclose the hose to be a heating hose. However, Keough teaches a heating hose for adhesive transport (para 0015, Keough). Keough describes a hose for adhesive transportation, a field closely related to SureBead and the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to incorporate the teachings of Keough into Boxberger in view of SureBead and use the heating hose of Kenough as the hose of Boxberger in view of SureBead. The hose of Kenough keeps the adhesive at a set temperature to prevent charring or discoloration (para 0012 and 0017, Keough).
Regarding claim 17, Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough discloses the fastening system according to claim 16,
wherein the holding section has a latching contour, and the holder has a corresponding mating contour (fig 1, holding section 13 has a latching contour in the form of protrusions 22, holder 11 has a corresponding mating contour 22, Boxberger)
wherein the latching contour and the mating contour can be brought into engagement in different latching positions (fig 1, the contours 22 can engage in different positions due to the repeating patterns of the protrusions, Boxberger).
Regarding claim 18, Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough discloses the fastening system according to Claim 16, wherein the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic coupling elements are permanently magnetic, and the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements are ferromagnetic (col 2, Boxberger, the magnetic mating elements 18 are made of neodymium magnets, which are permanent and ferromagnetic magnets.)
Regarding claim 28, Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough discloses an application system for applying a flowable medium to a substrate (0:30, SureBead), wherein the application system has an application device and the heating hose and the holder according to the fastening system of Claim 16 (0:26 and 0:30, SureBead, application device and hose, fig 1, Boxberger, holder)
wherein the application device has a connection for the heating hose for supplying the flowable medium to the application device (0:26, SureBead, the application device has a connection for the hose) and a pneumatically operated dosing valve to dispense the flowable medium supplied to the application device selectively from a dispensing opening of the application device (0:26-0:30, SureBead, the dosing valve to dispense the adhesive from a nozzle (dispensing opening) is pneumatically operated, page 11 of SureBead product manual)
wherein the application system has a solenoid valve for operating the dosing valve (0:26, SureBead, the top device is a solenoid valve, which operates the application system, SureBead product manual page 11) ,
wherein the solenoid valve has a compressed air connection for a compressed air supply (0:26, SureBead, the top solenoid valve is connected to compressed air supply on the right, page 16 of SureBead product manual)
wherein the solenoid valve has an output opening for the compressed air (0:26, SureBead, solenoid valve has output opening on the left side to connect air tubes going to applicator manifold, page 7 of SureBead module replacement instruction sheet)
wherein the output opening is fluid-connected to the dosing valve via a hose (0:26, SureBead, solenoid valve has output opening on the left side to connect air tubes going to applicator, page 7 of SureBead module replacement instruction sheet, which houses the dosing valve, 0:29 SureBead)
wherein the solenoid valve has the holder or is connected to the holder (in the case of Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough, the fastener of Boxberger connects the solenoid with the hose, thus the solenoid valve is connected to upper fastener 11 (holder) of Boxberger)
wherein the holder is held magnetically on the holding section of the heating hose holder (in the case of Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough, the fastener of Boxberger connects the solenoid with the hose, thus the holder is held onto the holding section of the hose.)
Regarding claim 29, Boxberger in view of SureBead and Keough discloses the application system according to Claim 28,
wherein the dosing valve has a valve rod (0:29, SureBead, dosing valve has valve rod)
wherein the valve rod is displaceable between a closed position, in which the valve rod closes the dispensing opening of the application device, and an open position, in which the valve rod opens the dispensing opening of the application device (0:29-0:31, the valve rod moves between a closed and open position to dispense adhesive, SureBead)
wherein the dosing valve has a pneumatically operated actuator (0:29-0:31, SureBead, the valve has actuator comprising the disk shaped piston and spring, which is actuated pneumatically from the solenoid valve)
wherein the actuator has a piston (0:29-0:31, SureBead, the actuator has a disk shaped piston)
wherein the piston is coupled to the valve rod to displace the valve rod from the closed position into the open position and/or from the open position into the closed position (0:29-0:31, SureBead, the piston is attached to valve rod and move the rod to open and closed positions)
wherein the actuator is connected to the solenoid valve via the hose to apply compressed air to the piston of the actuator to displace the valve rod by means of the piston (0:28, SureBead, page 7 of SureBead module replacement instruction sheet, the actuator inside 4 is connected to solenoid 10 via hoses 11 to apply compressed air to move the valve rod via the piston.)
Claims 19,20, 23-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keough in view of SureBead in further view of Boxberger
Regarding claim 19, Keough discloses a heating hose for conducting a flowable medium (para 0015 and 0084, Keough, hose has heating wires for the flowable adhesive, and hence is a heating hose)
wherein the heating hose has an inlet end and an outlet end for the flowable medium (fig 9, hose has inlet and outlet, Keough)
wherein the heating hose has an end cap at the outlet end and/or at the inlet end (not disclosed)
wherein the heating hose has a holding section for engaging with a holder in the region of the end cap (not disclosed)
wherein the holding section has one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements configured for engaging magnetically with one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic coupling elements of the holder to hold the holder on the holding section (not disclosed).
Keough does not disclose a hose end cap. However, SureBead teaches an adhesive dispensing system with a hose with an end cap (0:26, end cap on hose, SureBead). SureBead is a product video for an adhesive dispensing device, a field closely related to Keough and the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to incorporate the teachings of SureBead into Keough and use the heating hose of Keough as the hose of SureBead. The hose of Kenough keeps the adhesive at a set temperature to prevent charring or discoloration (para 0012 and 0017, Keough). After the modification, the hose of Keough in view of SureBead has an end cap.
Keough in view of SureBead does not disclose a holding section on the end cap, holder, nor the holder and holding section being magnetic. However, Boxberger teaches a magnetically engaging holding section and holder (fig 1, Boxberger, holding section 13 and holder 11 are magnetically engaging). Boxberger describes a magnetic holding device, a field related to the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to incorporate the teachings of Boxberger into SureBead in view of Keough and use the fastener of Boxberger to connect the solenoid valve and hose end cap of SureBead together. The fastener of Boxberger would provide more support for the valve, and make installation of the valve and hose easier, as one can be held in place by the other while making the fluid connections. After the modification, the end cap of SureBead would have the bottom fastener 13 of Boxberger attached to it as the holding section, and the solenoid valve of SureBead would have the top fastener 11 of Boxberger attached to it as the article holder.
Regarding claim 20, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to claim 19,
wherein the heating hose has a flexible heating hose body (fig 13A, para 0077, hose has a flexible body, Keough)
wherein the heating hose body has a high-pressure hose (para 0077, fig 13A, structural layer 704 is a high pressure hose, Keough) with an internal inner tube and a reinforcement surrounding the inner tube (fig 13A, para 0077, inner tube 102 and surrounding reinforcement 704, Keough)
a thermal insulation layer which surrounds the high-pressure hose and consists of a thermal insulation material (para 0080, fig 13A, outer layer 706 can have insulation material, which surrounds high pressure hose 704, Keough),
at least one heating conductor formed between the high-pressure hose and the thermal insulation layer (para 0081, fig 13A, insulation layer covers heating tape layer, which in turn covers high pressure layer 704, Keough)
and an outer sheath surrounding the thermal insulation layer (para 0080 and 0081, protective layer, which is the sheath, surrounds the insulation layer, Keough)
wherein the end cap radially encloses the outer sheath (0:26, SureBead, the end cap covers the hose. In the case of Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger, the end cap covers the exterior of the hose of Keough, and so also radially encloses the outer sheath of Keough.)
wherein the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements are arranged radially on the outer sheath (In the case of Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger, the magnetic coupling elements of Boxberger would be attached to the end cap and solenoid valve of SureBead, and connect them together. Thus the permanently magnetic coupling elements are radially relative to the outer sheath of Keough and are attached onto the outer sheath of Keough via the end cap of SureBead).
Regarding claim 23, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19, wherein the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements are each a strip of a ferromagnetic material (fig 1, Boxberger, the coupling elements are strips of neodymium magnets, which are ferromagnetic magnets.)
Regarding claim 24, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19,
wherein the end cap has more than one holding sections each with one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements,
wherein the holding sections are offset from one another in a circumferential direction and/or in a direction of the longitudinal extent of the heating hose.
Regarding claim 25, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19, wherein the heating hose has a connection piece having an internal through-duct for the flowable medium for coupling the heating hose to a consumer or to a source of the flowable medium (0:30, SureBead, the adhesive nozzle (consumer), is connected to the hose via a connection channel), wherein the connection piece has an end which is angled relative to a longitudinal extent of the heating hose (0:30, SureBead, the end of the connection channel is angled relative to the hose.)
Regarding claim 26, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19, wherein the one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling elements are at least partially exposed radially to the outside (the permanently magnetic coupling elements 11 and 13 of fig 1 Boxberger are attached to the radially exterior surface of the end cap of SureBead, and so are exposed radially to the outside.)
Regarding claim 27, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19, wherein the holding section has a latching contour which extends in a direction of longitudinal extent of the heating hose and has latching structures which repeat in the direction of longitudinal extent of the heating hose (fig 1, holding section 13 has a repeating latching contour formed by protrusions 22 that extends longitudinally to the heating hose, Boxberger).
Claims 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger in further view of Knecht (US D993292 S), hereafter known as Knecht.
Regarding claim 22, Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger discloses the heating hose according to Claim 19, but does not disclose wherein the end cap has two half- shells, wherein the two half-shells each form a portion of a receiving space for the respective one or more permanently magnetic or ferromagnetic mating coupling element.
However, Knecht teaches an end cap with two half shells (fig 1, Knecht). Knecht describes a design for a liquid transfer hose, a field related to Keough, SureBead, and the claimed invention. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before time of filing to incorporate the teachings of Knecht into Keough in view of SureBead and Boxberger and make the end cap of SureBead to be two vertically separated half shells like the end cap of Knecht. Since Knecht is a design patent, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to do so. Enclosures made of mating half shells are well known in the art, and the half shells would make assembling the end cap onto the hose easier, as well as reduce the cost of repair since there is a choice to replace only one of the half shells instead of the entire end cap. After modification, the end cap half shells would together form a receiving space for the magnetic fastener of Boxberger.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21, 30 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Budreck (US 3009225 A) and Fullerton (US 20090250576 A1, US 20120007705 A1) discloses magnetic connectors.
Burmester (US 20220314266 A1), Ineichen (US 20200222921 A1), Ganzer (US 20200254476 A1), Levins (US 20190247881 A1) discloses pneumatic fluid dispensing systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAOTIAN LU whose telephone number is (571)272-0444. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, 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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/H.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3753
/KENNETH RINEHART/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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