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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: the specification should not refer to the claims (p.[0007]-[0014]).
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 2 and 4-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) 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. In the claims the preamble is indefinite because the “configured to receive a bolt” contradicts the anti-slip protrusions in contact with the bolt. Additionally it is unclear in which configuration the washer and bolt are intended because the anti-slip protrusions are claimed as both positioned inward of the threaded outer surface of the bolt and in surface contact with threaded outer surface. It is suggested applicant use “adapted to” type language when referring to one of the configuration. The claims were interpreted as best understood to be claiming the combination of the washer and bolt in a fully assembled configuration.
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 1, 2, 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Underwood (US 3,062,557) in view of Travis (US 8,616,818). Underwood discloses a seal washer (Fig. 1) comprising: a flat ring-shaped washer body (3) having an bolt insertion hole with an inner circular peripheral edge; an inner water stop member (5) made of an elastic material fitted to the inner peripheral edge; and anti-slip protrusions (10) disposed in spaced relation on an annular inner surface (7) of the inner water stop member. The anti-slip protrusions are planer (Fig. 3) and tongue-shaped (Fig. 1) where a distal end of the anti-slip protrusions is located inside an outer periphery of a bolt shaft (11; Fig. 3). The anti-slip protrusion have distal ends inward of a threaded outer peripheral surface of the bolt and are bent in an insertion direction such an upper surface of the tongues contact the threaded outer peripheral surface of the bolt (Fig. 2).
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Underwood does not disclose the upper surface of the anti-slip protrusions in contact with the threaded outer peripheral surface of the bolt when fully inserted. Travis discloses a washer including anti-slip protrusions (112) bent with the insertion of the bolt such that an upper surface of the anti-slip protrusion contact the outer peripheral surface of a bolt (Figs. 4A and 4B) similar to Underwood but Travis further describes the upper surfaces can also alternatively contact an outer threaded peripheral surface when the bolt is fully inserted (column 8, paragraph beginning line 38). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have the upper surface of the anti-slip protrusions of Underwood contact a threaded outer peripheral surface as described in Travis because Travis teaches that as an alternative to the contact in the underfill area as disclosed in Underwood for yielding the same predictable results.
Claims 4-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Underwood in view of Travis as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Utsuno (US 2015/0247524). Modified Underwood does not disclose the washer including an outer water stop member. Utsuno discloses a seal washer comprising a flat ring-shaped washer body (10) made of metal and an inner water stop member (32) made of an elastic material including anti-slip protrusions similar to Underwood. But Utsuno further teaches an outer water stop member (31) made the same elastic material as the inner water stop member connected with in inner water stop member (at 56) and with the same thickness, and clarifies the washer body to be made of metal. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the washer of modified Underwood with an outer water stop member as disclosed in Utsuno in order to improve the washer’s sealing ability while maintaining tis structural rigidity.
The specific dimensions would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention as a matter of scale because it is well known to make washers in in different sizes for different application.
Conclusion
While the examiner does not necessarily agree with applicant’s remarks in regards to Underwood the rejection nonetheless been withdrawn in favor of a rejection better aligned with the remarks in an effort to expedite the application.
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 FLEMMING SAETHER whose telephone number is (571)272-7071. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 7:00 eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine Mills can be reached at 571-272-8322. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
