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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of a certified copy of the KR 10-2023-0154363 for compliance with 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to for the following reason:
The specification (p-9, lines 16-21) describes a rotating unit configured for rotating around a hinge. However, such rotating unit has not been identified in the drawings. Applicant is requested to properly identify such feature in the drawings with a reference number.
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 following feature(s) must be shown and properly identified in the drawings and specification with a reference number, or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s).
hinges (claim 1)
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 for the following reason:
The specification (p-9, lines 16-21) describes a rotating unit for rotating around a hinge. However, such rotating unit and the hinge (set forth in claim 1) have not been identified in the specification. Applicant is requested to properly identify such features in the specification with appropriate reference numbers.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
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.
Claims 1-3 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 enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
The amended claim 1 sets forth a horizontal body and a pair of elevating bodies accommodating a plurality of floating bodies and configured to rotate about respective hinges, wherein when the water level exceeds a preset height, a controller causes the horizontal body and the pair of elevating bodies to rotate about the respective hinges from the locked state to the opened state such that the plurality of floating bodies are separated from the horizontal body and the pair of elevating bodies.
The specification (p-9, line 16 through p-10, line 2) generally mentions the following:
Meanwhile, as a modifiable exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a horizontal body 211 and elevating bodies 212 that accommodate floating bodies 220 may be separately configured with a rotating unit for rotating around a hinge under a control of a controller 400, and when a flood height of a road exceeds a set height based on sensed information from a water level sensor, the floating bodies 220 may be configured to be separated from the horizontal body 211 and elevating bodies 212 by rotating the rotating unit to be from a locked state to an opened state.
Such a rotating unit is formed on a lower side of the horizontal body 211 and a lower side of each elevating body 212, and when a control for an open state by the controller is received after a previous locking state supporting the floating bodies 220 is maintained, each lower side rotates and no longer supports the floating bodies 220, whereby the floating bodies 220 are separated from a floating assembly 200 and float freely on the water.
It is however noted that neither the specification nor the drawings provide sufficient information on how such rotating unit is constructed and attached to hinges; or how/where such hinges are affixed to the main structure, and how the floating bodies get separated from the horizontal body and the pair of elevating bodies.
Therefore, in absence of adequate guidance in the disclosure, a person skilled in the art would not be able to make and/or use the claimed invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3 have been considered but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 would be allowable if the applicant is able to overcome the objections and the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as set forth in this Office action.
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 AJAY VASUDEVA whose telephone number is (571)272-6689. The examiner can normally be reached 6:00 am - 3:00 pm.
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, Marc Jimenez can be reached at 571-272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
Prosecution Insights