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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/08/2024, 10/08/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“the center openings” in Claim 6 should be “the aligned center openings”
“ends of the lower clamps” in Claim 8 should be “the ends of the lower clamps”
“the ends of the contact member” in Claim 11 should be “the two opposing ends of the contact member”
“attachment members” in Claim 13 should be “the attachment members”
“one of the legs … one of the legs” in Claim 15 should be “one leg … another leg”
“the fasteners” in Claim 15 should be “fasteners”
“the step” in Claim 17 and 19-20 should be “a step”
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 8, 10-13, 15 and 20 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.
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) 1-2, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ENZ (CH704643).
Regarding Claim 1. ENZ teaches, in Fig. 1a, a high voltage cable cleat for supporting cables, the high voltage cable cleat comprising: a roller (111) with a main body, a first end (left side of 111), and a second end (right side of 111); a roller axle (where 112 is) positioned within the roller and extending beyond the first end and the second end of the roller (to connect with the nut, see Fig. 1A); a roller mount (11,140,10) receiving the roller axle and supporting the roller thereon; lower clamps (120, 120’) rotatably mounted on the roller axle; and upper clamps (13) secured to the lower clamps.
Regarding Claim 2. ENZ teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, wherein the lower clamps (120, 120’) are rotated from an installation position that facilitates cable installation to an installed position (Fig. 1a).
Regarding Claim 7. ENZ teaches t3he high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, wherein the upper clamps comprise an arch shaped member (see 13- Fig. 1a) with a first end (left side) and a second end (right side), a first mount member (~16) with a circular opening extends from the first end, and a second mount member (~16) with a circular opening extends from the second end (see Fig. 1a).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ENZ in view of Johnsen (US9010695).
Regarding Claim 9. ENZ teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the upper clamps include an inwardly facing dimple for engaging cable installed in the high voltage cable cleat. (US9010695)
Johnsen teaches, in Fig. 2, the upper clamps (CSD) include an inwardly facing dimple (ST2 or open area above ST2 and below CSDF) for engaging cable installed in the high voltage cable cleat (obvious to one skilled in the art).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the upper clams as disclosed by ENZ with the dimple as disclosed by Johnsen in order to provide a easy operation to put the cable back in the right position without needing being released from the suspension device (Johnsen column 3 lines 48-54).
Claim(s) 3-5, 14 and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ENZ in view of Dir (US9809415).
Regarding Claim 16. ENZ teaches a method of installing a high voltage cable cleat with cables secured on the cable cleat, the method comprising: providing a roller (111) with a roller axle (where 112 is) extending beyond a first end (left side of roller) and a second end of the roller (right side of roller), wherein the roller axle is mounted to and extends beyond a roller mount (11,140,10) to support the roller on the roller mount (see Fig. 1A); providing lower clamps (120, 120’) positioned on the roller axle extending beyond the roller mount (see Fig. 1A); but does not teach securing the roller axle to the roller mount with at least one locking pin; and rotating the lower clamps downward to an installation position to provide access to the roller supported by the roller mount.
Dir teaches, in Fig. 3, securing the roller axle (40) to the roller mount (44, 46) with at least one locking pin (42,43); and rotating the lower clamps downward to an installation position to provide access to the roller supported by the roller mount (action obvious to one skilled in the art).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the roller as disclosed by ENZ with the center opening as disclosed by Dir in order to quickly and easily installs the sheave roller on the cable tray (Dir, column 1 lines 60-62).
Regarding Claim 3. ENZ teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, but does not teach the first end of the roller includes a center opening and the second end of the roller includes a center opening, the center opening of the first end of the roller extends to the center opening at the second end of the roller defining a hollow center in the roller.
Dir teaches, in Fig. 3, the first end (right side) of the roller (34) includes a center opening (98) and the second end (left side) of the roller (34) includes a center opening (other side of 98), the center opening of the first end of the roller extends to the center opening at the second end of the roller defining a hollow center in the roller (see Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the roller as disclosed by ENZ with the center opening as disclosed by Dir in order to quickly and easily installs the sheave roller on the cable tray (Dir, column 1 lines 60-62).
Regarding Claim 4. ENZ and Dir teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 3, wherein the roller axle (40) is positioned within the hollow center in the roller (see Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 5. ENZ teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, but does not teach the roller axle has a first end with pin holes and a second end with pin holes, whereby locking pins are positioned through the pin holes to secure the roller axle to the roller mount.
Dir teaches, in Fig. 3, the roller axle (40) has a first end with pin holes (94) and a second end with pin holes (92), whereby locking pins (43) are positioned through the pin holes to secure the roller axle to the roller mount (see Fig. 3, see Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the roller as disclosed by ENZ with the center opening as disclosed by Dir in order to quickly and easily installs the sheave roller on the cable tray (Dir, column 1 lines 60-62).
Regarding Claim 14. ENZ teaches the high voltage cable cleat of claim 1, but does not teach a fixing bracket for securing the cable cleat to a surface, wherein the fixing bracket includes a center with opposing legs.
Dir teaches a fixing bracket (38, 52) for securing the cable cleat to a surface (see Fig. 2), wherein the fixing bracket (78) includes a center with opposing legs (82, 80a).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the cable cleat as disclosed by ENZ with the fixing bracket as disclosed by Dir in order to easily disassemble the mounting assembly from the cable tray (Dir, column 5 lines 24-25)
Regarding Claim 17.ENZ and Dir teaches the method of claim 16, further comprising the step of pulling cable on the high voltage cable cleat by rotating the roller mounted to the roller mount (Dir, column 1 lines 11-17).
Regarding Claim 18. ENZ and Dir teaches the method of claim 17, further comprising the step of rotating the lower clamps to an installed position with contact members of the lower clamps engaging an underside of the cable (Dir, column 2 lines 45-55).
Regarding Claim 19. ENZ and Dir teaches the method of claim 18, further comprising the step of positioning upper clamps (ENZ, 13) over the cable (when brought in would be below the clamps); and securing the upper clamps to the lower clamps (ENZ, 120, 120`) by fasteners (16 can be considered a fastener, see ENZ Fig. 1a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is presented in the Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMED AZAM whose telephone number is (571)270-0593. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 11:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MA/Examiner, Art Unit 2847 /Timothy J. Dole/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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