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
2. Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on August 29, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that the materially different process of torch welding does not apply to the welding cable defined in claim 1. Claim 1 specifically states "the fitting comprising a body having a bore in communication with the gas conduit and having a conductive surface ultrasonically welded to the plurality of strands of the conductive wire. This is found persuasive. All claims will be examined
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statements filed on September 10, 2024 and March 14, 2024 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Binzel (CA 2,700,760; cited in the IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Binzel discloses a welding cable (see figure 2), comprising: an outer jacket (27); a plurality of strands of conductive wire (25) arranged within the outer jacket (27); a conduit (24) within the outer jacket (27); and a fitting (35) configured to couple the welding cable to an external device (see figure 4; page 10 lines 30-32), the fitting (see figure 1) comprising a body having a bore (41; see figure 4) in communication with the gas conduit (24) and having a conductive surface ultrasonically welded to the plurality of strands of the conductive wire (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 2, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the conduit (24) is in a center of the outer jacket (27), and the plurality of strands (25) are arranged around an outside of the conduit (24; see figure 3).
Regarding claim 3, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the conduit (23) is configured to convey at least one of gas or welding wire (page 9 lines 6-25).
Regarding claim 4, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the conduit (23) is configured to convey gas, and further comprising a second conduit configured to be placed into communication with a second bore of the fitting and configured to convey welding wire (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 5, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the body (fitting 35; see figure 4) is constructed from brass, copper, bronze, aluminum, or a copper alloy (well known in the art; see figure 4; page 5 line 8).
Regarding claim 6, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the plurality of strands (25) of the conductive wire are ultrasonically welded to the conductive surface on an exterior surface of the body (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 7, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the body comprises two or more flat surfaces that are ultrasonically welded to respective portions of the plurality of strands of the conductive wire (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 8, Binzel discloses the welding cable (see figure 2), wherein the fitting (35) is configured to be coupled to at least one of a welding-type torch, a welding-type power supply, a wire feeder, or a cable connector (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 9, Binzel discloses a method of manufacturing a weld cable (see figure 2), the method comprising: securing a fitting (35), the fitting (35) comprising a body having a bore (41) and a plurality of conductive surfaces arranged around a circumference of at least a portion of the body (see figure 4); placing a plurality of strands (25) of conductive wire of a weld cable over and into contact with the conductive surfaces (see figure 2); arranging a conduit of the weld cable in communication with the bore (41) of the body; and ultrasonically welding the plurality of strands of the conductive wire to the plurality of conductive surfaces to secure the weld cable to the fitting (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see claim 16).
Regarding claim 10, Binzel disclose the method of manufacturing a weld cable (see figure 2), wherein the ultrasonically welding the plurality of strands (25) to the plurality of conductive surfaces comprises ultrasonically welding a portion of the plurality of strands to one of the conductive surfaces at a time (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 11, Binzel discloses the method (see figure 2), wherein the ultrasonically welding the plurality of strands (25) to the plurality of conductive surfaces comprises turning the weld cable and the fitting (35) with respect to a sonotrode between welds of respective subsets of the plurality of strands to corresponding ones of the conductive surfaces (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 12, Binzel discloses the method (see figure 2), wherein the plurality of conductive surfaces comprise flat surfaces arranged around the circumference of a portion of the body (see figures 2 and 4)
Regarding claim 13, Binzel discloses the method (see figure 2), wherein the fitting (35) comprises one, two, or four conductive surfaces to which the plurality of strands of the conductive wire are ultrasonically welded. (page 4 lines 34-page 5 line 8 and page 10 lines 30-34; see clam 16).
Regarding claim 14, Binzel discloses the method (see figure 2), wherein the fitting (35) comprises brass or copper (well known in the art; see figure 4; page 5 line 8).
Regarding claim 15, Binzel discloses the method (see figure 2), wherein arranging the conduit (24) of the weld cable in fluid communication with the bore of the body (see figure 4) comprises at least partially inserting the conduit (24) of the weld cable into the bore (41) while the plurality of strands (25) of the conductive wire are pushed over an exterior surface of the body (see figure 4).
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Bluemmel et al (US 11,777,299) and Hashimoto et al (US 8,552,295) disclose a welding cable.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Angel R. Estrada at telephone number (571) 272-1973. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:30am -5:00pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N. Hayman can be reached on (571) 270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) OR 571-272-1000.
December 27, 2025
/ANGEL R ESTRADA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841