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
Claims 26-32 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on August 26, 2026, wherein the applicant elected Species A, coupling member 5, figures 1-25 and identified claims 15-25 and 33-34 as reading on the elected species.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
NOTE: The specification discusses in length “Patent Literature 1: Patent No. 5820848”, but the reference does not appear to be cited on the IDS. It also does not appear to be referencing US patent 5820848 as that patent is directed to “Methods Of Preparing Interdigitation-fusion Liposomes And Gels Which Encapsulate A Bioactive Agent”.
Applicant should identify the “Patent Literature 1” on an IDS, provide a copy of the reference if it is a foreign reference or NPL, and make sure the specification clearly and correctly identifies the citation (i.e. correct the patent number if a US reference, or provide country of origin if it is a foreign reference).
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 auxiliary beam supporting the scaffold plate, as claimed in claim 25, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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 Objections
Claim 33 is objected to because of the following informalities: it appears the word “plate” in line 11 should be the plural “plates”. 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.
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 15-25 and 33-34 are 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.
With respect to each of the independent claims 15, 33 and 34, the claim language directed to the number of coupling members between the end portions of each longitudinal beam and a transverse beam, renders the claim indefinite and unclear. For example, the language in claim 15, lines 5-6, suggests that there are four coupling members at each end of the beams, or possibly that there are four coupling members along each of the beams (since along the beams would put the coupling members between the ends of the beams). Neither of these options align with what is disclosed or depicted in the figures. Via the disclosure it is understood that there is just one coupling member (5) at the coupling point where longitudinal beams and transverse beams connect. Similar instances of indefiniteness with respect to number of coupling members in relation to beams occur in each of 33 and 34.
Additionally with respect the claim 15, it is unclear how many scaffolding plates are being claimed as a “scaffolding plate” in the singular is claimed, followed by the recitation “a number of the scaffolding plates being one greater than the number of intermediate beams installed”, leading to indefiniteness as there are “a plurality of intermediate beams” claimed. It appears the applicant intends to claim a plurality of scaffolding plates, rather than just a singular “plate”.
With respect to claim 21, it is unclear what the first and second protrusions are as the claim language does not align with what is depicted in the figures or discussed in the specification. Claim 21 claims a first protrusion which is understood to be one of the protrusions Pa (figure 10), and a second protrusion which is understood to be Pb (figure 10. However, the claim goes on to recite that the first king axis intersects the second axis, which is not the case with the axis of Pa and Pb, as they are offset vertically along the pin P1 (figure 10). Additionally, looking at specification paragraph [0060], it is realized that the intersecting of the Pa and Pb axes is only how it appears when looking down on P1 along the axis of P1. With that in mind it is unclear if the first and second protrusions claimed would actually just be the two opposing protrusions Pa on either side of the pin P1 as their axes are at the level and would intersect.
Appropriate correction and clarification are required. Dependent claims not directly named are rejected for being dependent upon a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 15-16, 18-23 and 33-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jolicoeur et al. (US 7,779599).
Jolicoeur et al. disclose:
15. A scaffold device (120, figure 12), comprising:
a frame (100, figure 13), comprising:
a pair of longitudinal beams (series of beams 30 extending along length of 120; see below),
a pair of transverse beams (transverse beams 30 at opposing ends of pair of longitudinal beams; see below), and
four coupling members (10, see below) disposed between each end portion of the longitudinal beams and each end portion of the transverse beams (see below), the coupling members (10) rotatably coupling the longitudinal beams and the transverse beams on a plane (figures 14-18),
a plurality of intermediate beams (52 and intermediate 30s; see below) spanned between the longitudinal beams at a predetermined interval (see below); and
a scaffolding plate (50A, 50B, figure 10) spanning between the longitudinal beams and supported by at least one of the intermediate beams (figure 9), a number of the scaffolding plates being one greater than the number of intermediate beams installed (figures 12-13).
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(Note that the scaffolding can be constructed of as many or as few rows and columns as needed and that while figure 13 depicts a larger array, a single row/column is also an option and is being applied in the rejection.)
16. The scaffold device according to claim 15, wherein: each of the longitudinal beams and the transverse beams comprises a beam body, and each beam body extends along a respective beam body axis (see above); and
a plurality of connecting parts (35, 36; figure 5) is detachably coupled to both 39B
ends of each beam body (figure 5) and extends along the respective beam body axis (figure 5), the connecting parts configured to couple the beam body to the coupling member (figures 6A, 6B).
18. The scaffold device according to claim 16, wherein the beam body comprises: an upper chord member (32), a lower chord member (33) opposite and parallel to the upper chord member (figure 5), at least one bundle member (one of the plurality of support members 38s) spanning between the upper chord member and the lower chord member and coupling the upper chord member to the lower chord member (figure 5), and a plurality of diagonal members (others of the plurality of support members 38) spanning between the upper chord member and the lower chord member and coupling the upper chord member to the lower chord member (figure 5), and the upper chord member, the lower chord member, the at least one bundle member, and the diagonal members are detachably coupled together (via the bolts/rivets/fasteners of the named bar joist construction, or open-web beam or joist construction; col. 7, lines 21-26).
19. The scaffold device according to claim 18, wherein the upper chord member comprises: a scaffolding plate support portion (horizontal flanges of 39A, 39B) extending along the beam body axis (figure 5), the scaffolding plate support portion configured to engage and support the scaffolding plate (figure 9), and a pair of positioning pieces (vertical flanges of 39A, 39B) extending away from an upper surface side of the scaffolding plate support portion (figure 5), the positioning pieces mutually opposing one another and configured to restrict movement of the scaffolding plate along a direction perpendicular to the beam body axis (figure 11B).
20. The scaffold device according to claim 16, further comprising: a mounting hole (37B, figure 5) defined by the connecting part (35); an insertion hole (13, figure 1) defined by the coupling member (figure 1), the insertion hole opposite the mounting hole and configured to align with the mounting hole (figure 6A, 6B), the insertion hole configured to cause the coupling member to be rotatably coupled (see rotation arrows R1 and R2 in Fig 6B) to the longitudinal beam or the transverse beam (figures 6B); and a fixing pin (40,, figure 6A) coupled within the mounting hole and the insertion hole (figure 6B).
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21. The scaffold device according to claim 20 wherein an upper end of the fixing pin (40) includes: a first protrusion (LH 42, figure 6A) extending in a radial direction from the fixing pin along a first pin axis (figure 6A), and a second protrusion (RH 42, figure 6A) extending in a radial direction from the fixing pin along a second pin axis (figure 6A), wherein the first pin axis intersects the second pin axis (@ the center of 40).
22.The scaffold device according to claim 16 wherein: the connecting part (35) defines a mounting hole (360B, figure 5) centered along a mounting hole axis (figure 6A); the coupling member (10, figure 1) defines an anti-rotation groove at a perimeter of the coupling member (unnumbered grooves at edge of 11 aligned with 13B, 13D, 13F and 13H), the anti-rotation groove centered along the mounting hole axis (figure 1); an anti-rotation pin (40B, figure 6A) configured to be inserted into the mounting hole (figures 6A, 6B); and the anti-rotation groove is configured to couple the coupling member to the longitudinal beam or the transverse beam in a non-rotatable state (col. 7, line 11-16).
23. The scaffold device according to claim 15, wherein the coupling member (10, figure 1) comprises: an upper plate (11, figure 1) comprising: a plurality of upper plate insertion holes (13B, 13D, 13F, 13H, figure 1) disposed at an equal interval on a circumference (figure 1), and a plurality of upper plate anti-rotation grooves (unnumbered grooves at edge of 11 aligned with 13B, 13D, 13F and 13H) provided on an upper plate perimeter and at a position directly facing the upper plate insertion holes when viewed from a center of the upper plate (figure 1), a lower plate (12, figure 1) parallel to the upper plate (figure 1), the lower plate (12) comprising: a plurality of lower plate insertion holes (14B, 14D, 14F, 14H, figure 1) disposed at the equal interval on the circumference and directly opposite each of the upper plate insertion holes (figure 1), and a plurality of lower plate anti-rotation grooves (unnumbered grooves at edge of 12 aligned with 14B, 14D, 14F and 14H) provided on a lower plate perimeter and at a position directly facing the lower plate insertion holes when viewed from a center of the lower plate (figure 1), and a linking part (15) linking the upper plate and the lower plate (figure 1).
33. A method of assembling a scaffold device, wherein the scaffold device comprises: a frame (100, see below) comprising: a pair of longitudinal beams (see below), a pair of transverse beams (see below), and four coupling members disposed between each end portion of the longitudinal beam and each end portion of the transverse beam (see below), the coupling members configured to rotatably couple the longitudinal beam and the transverse beam on the same plane (figures 14-18), two or more intermediate beams (52s and intermediate 30s) spanning between the longitudinal beams at a predetermined interval (figure 13); and a plurality of scaffolding plate[s] (50A,50B figure 10) spanning between the longitudinal beams and supported by at least one of the intermediate beams (figure 9), a number of the scaffolding plates being one greater than the number of intermediate beams installed (figures 12-13); wherein the method of assembling the scaffold device comprises: coupling both ends of each of the pair of longitudinal beams to a respective coupling member (figures 10 and 13); spanning an intermediate beam between the pair of longitudinal beams (figures 8A-9), spanning one of the scaffolding plates between the pair of longitudinal beams while supported by at least the spanned intermediate beam (figure 9), repeating spanning the intermediate beams and scaffolding plates the same number of times as the number of remaining intermediate beams configured to be spanned (figures 12-13), and spanning a traverse beam between the coupling members (figure 13); and spanning one of the scaffolding plates between the longitudinal beam and the traverse beam while supported by at least the traverse beam (figure 12).
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(Note that the scaffolding can be constructed of as many or as few rows and columns as needed and that while figure 13 depicts a larger array, a single row/column is also an option and is being applied in the rejection.)
34. A scaffolding device, comprising: a frame (100, figure 13) comprising: a pair of longitudinal beams (see below), each of the longitudinal beams comprising a beam body extending along a beam body axis (figure 5), each longitudinal beam comprising: an upper chord member (32, figure 5) comprising: a scaffolding plate support portion (horizontal flange of 39A, 39B) extending along the beam body axis (figure 5), the scaffolding plate support portion configured to engage and support a scaffolding plate (figures 11A-11C), and a pair of positioning pieces (vertical flanges of 39A, 39B) extending away from the scaffolding plate support portion (figure 5), the positioning pieces mutually opposing one another and configured to restrict movement of the scaffolding plate along a direction perpendicular to the beam body axis (figure 11B), a lower chord member (33) opposite and parallel to the upper chord member (figure 5), a pair of transverse beams (see below); and four coupling members (10, see below) disposed between each end portion of the longitudinal beam and each end portion of the transverse beam (see below), the coupling members rotatably coupling the longitudinal beam and the transverse beam on a plane (figures 14-18); and two or more intermediate beams (52, see below) spanned between the longitudinal beams.
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For claim 25 an alternate interpretation of Jolicoeur et al is applied: Jolicoeur et al. disclose:
15. A scaffold device (120, figure 12), comprising:
a frame (100, figure 13), comprising:
a pair of longitudinal beams (series of beams 30 extending along length of 120; see below),
a pair of transverse beams (transverse beams 30 at opposing ends of pair of longitudinal beams; see below), and
four coupling members (10, see below) disposed between each end portion of the longitudinal beams and each end portion of the transverse beams (see below), the coupling members (10) rotatably coupling the longitudinal beams and the transverse beams on a plane (figures 14-18),
a plurality of intermediate beams (intermediate 30s parallel to the transverse beams; see below) spanned between the longitudinal beams at a predetermined interval (see below); and
a scaffolding plate (work platform 50) spanning between the longitudinal beams and supported by at least one of the intermediate beams (figure 12), a number of the scaffolding plates being one greater than the number of intermediate beams installed (figures 12-13; note for this rejection the work platform 50 which is made up of 50A and 50B, is considered the scaffolding plate; just as any scaffolding plate can be made of more than one plate piece).
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25. The scaffold device according to claim 15, further comprising an auxiliary beam (52s) supporting the scaffolding plate (figure 9), the auxiliary beam (52s) spanning parallel to the longitudinal beams (see above), spanning between the mutually opposing transverse beam (see above) and the intermediate beam (intermediate 30s), and spanning between the mutually opposing intermediate beams (see above).
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.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jolicoeur et al. as applied to claims 15-16 above, and further in view of Coles (US 6,675,546). Jolicoeur et al. do not disclose wherein: the beam body is formed of a material having a lower mass per unit volume than the connecting part; and the connecting part is formed of a material having a higher rigidity than the beam body.
However, Coles teaches: wherein: the beam body (22, figure 5) is formed of a material having a lower mass per unit volume than the connecting part (connecting part 10 disclosed as “preferably of stainless steel” col. 5, lines 33-34 and truss members 22 are disclosed as “typically of aluminum” col. 6, line 2; aluminum having a lower mass per unit than steel); and the connecting part is formed of a material having a higher rigidity than the beam body (connecting part 10 disclosed as “preferably of stainless steel” col. 5, lines 33-34 and truss members 22 are disclosed as “typically of aluminum; steel being more rigid than aluminum).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct frame of Jolicoeur et al. with the beam body is formed of a material having a lower mass per unit volume than the connecting part; and the connecting part is formed of a material having a higher rigidity than the beam body, as taught by Coles, so as to provide an overall lighter weight frame while still providing high rigidity and strength where it is needed most at connection points.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 24 is 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COLLEEN M CHAVCHAVADZE whose telephone number is (571)272-6289. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM-4:00PM.
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, Daniel Cahn can be reached at 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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COLLEEN M. CHAVCHAVADZE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3634
/COLLEEN M CHAVCHAVADZE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634
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