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 5/9/2024 was filed prior to the mailing date of this action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract is 217 words, which exceeds the 150-word limit. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
In paragraph 0029, lines 1-3, the first sentence is a sentence fragment as the phrase “it should be noted that” indicates that the listed terms ("center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc.) share at least one thing in common but that detail is missing, leaving the sentence to end prematurely after the listed terms.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, “the space” is recited in line 3 without properly defining or introducing it; “the space” should be written as “a space.”
Regarding claim 1, “the wire” is recited in lines 5-6 without properly defining or introducing it; “the wire” should be written as “a wire.”
Regarding claim 1, “the outer sheath” is recited in line 11 without properly defining or introducing it; “the outer sheath” should be written as “an outer sheath.”
Regarding claim 3, “rack(4)” in line 2 should be written as “rack (4).”
Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claim 10, “snaped” in line 4 should be written as “snapped.”
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 8 and 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.
Regarding claim 8, “the knife holder (32)” is recited in line 5 although 32 was previously referred to as “a tool holder (32)” in line 2 of the same claim. Furthermore, 32 is also later referred to as “the tool holder” in lines 2 and 4-5 of claim 9 in addition to line 3 of claim 10. This is rejected under 112(b) for indefiniteness under lack of antecedent basis due to 32 being associated with two different terms, as well as the applicant making it unclear whether “knife holder” is a different component from “tool holder” or is an alternative terminology for “tool holder” that has not been specified.
Regarding claim 10, “the corresponding second slide grooves (422)” is recited in line 4 although 422 previously referred to as “a second chute (422)” in line 2 of the same claim. Furthermore, 422 is also referred to as “the second chute (422)” in line 5 of the same claim, shortly after “corresponding second slide grooves.” This is rejected under 112(b) for indefiniteness under lack of antecedent basis due to 422 being associated with two different terms, as well as the applicant making it unclear whether “corresponding second slide grooves” are a different component from “second chute” or is an alternative terminology for “second chute” that has not been specified.
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 1-5, 7-8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (CN 216121584 U), in view of Jin et al. (CN 111525459 A).
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches a wire stripping machine (peeling mechanism 100 as shown in annotated Fig. 1 below), wherein the wire stripping machine includes:
a wire feeding component (2) (wire feeding assembly 102 as shown in annotated Fig. 1 below), the wire feeding component (2) can transport wires inserted through the wire entry space (5) (“the peeling cable 1 passes through the wire feeding flow passage pipe 1031 [interpreted wire entry space for Liu, wherein wire entry component is the plate structure of supporting frame 101 which contains the wire feeding flow passage pipe 1031] and is transported and transferred by the wire feeding assembly 102,” pg. 5, lines 30-32, Liu) in a preset direction (“the wire feeding flow passage pipe 1031 is aligned with the wire feeding assembly 102,” pg. 5, lines 29-30, Liu);
a wire stripping component (3) (specified in annotated Fig. 4 below) includes a wire stripping knife (31) (stripping cutter/knife 104 as shown in annotated Figs. 1 and 4 below), the wire stripping knife (31) is disposed above the wire feeding component (2) in a liftable manner (as shown annotated Fig. 3 below; height of stripping knife 104 can be adjusted, pg. 8, lines 1-8), the wire stripping knife (31) can cut into the outer sheath of the wire transported on the wire feeding component (2) (“the wire feeding groove and the wire stripping knife are used for clamping the cable to be peeled passing through the wire feeding flow passage pipe [peeling the cable can be interpreted as stripping the outermost insulating layer of a cable],” pg. 2, lines 36-37, Liu).
Liu does not teach a first wire clamping part (11) and a second wire clamping part (12), the space between the first wire clamping part (11) and the second wire clamping part (12) is adjustable, so that an adjustable-size wire entry space (5) is formed between the first wire clamping part (11) and the second wire clamping part (12), and the wire to be stripped can be inserted through the wire entry space (5).
However, Jin does teach a wire stripping machine, wherein the wire stripping machine includes: a wire entry component (1) (fixing clamping seat 5 as shown in annotated Fig. 2 below) includes a first wire clamping part (11) (lower clamping block 52 as shown in annotated Fig. 5 below) and a second wire clamping part (12) (upper clamping block 51 as shown in annotated Fig. 5 below), the space between the first wire clamping part (11) and the second wire clamping part (12) is adjustable (as shown in annotated Figs. 2 and 5 below; “the fixing clamping seat is further provided with an adjusting ring,” pg. 3, lines 33-34, Jin), so that an adjustable-size wire entry space (5) (adjusting ring 71 as shown in annotated Fig. 2 below) is formed between the first wire clamping part (11) and the second wire clamping part (12) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 below), and the wire to be stripped can be inserted through the wire entry space (5) (lead wire 9 is inserted through adjusting ring 71 of fixing clamp seat 5 as shown in annotated Fig. 2 below);
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Liu to incorporate the teachings of Jin such that the clamping parts could have been adjustable to allow for wires of varied diameters to be conveniently inserted while maintaining the stability of the wire when mounted (pg. 5, lines 1-5, Jin).
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Regarding claim 2, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 1. Liu, as modified, does not teach a first wire clamping groove (111) is provided on the first wire clamping part (11), and a second wire clamping groove (121) is provided on the second wire clamping part (12), the wire entry space (5) is formed by the first wire clamping groove (111) and the second wire clamping groove (121).
However, Jin does teach a first wire clamping groove (111) (lower half ring 712 as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above) is provided on the first wire clamping part (11) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above; “the lower half ring 712 is slidingly connected to the lower clamping block 52 through the lower ring block 732,” pg. 9, lines 32-33, Jin), and a second wire clamping groove (121) (upper half ring 711 as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above) is provided on the second wire clamping part (12) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above; “the upper half ring 711 through the upper ring block 731 is slidingly connected on the upper clamping block 51,” pg. 9, lines 31-32, Jin), the wire entry space (5) is formed by the first wire clamping groove (111) and the second wire clamping groove (121) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above; “the adjusting ring comprises an upper half ring and a lower half ring,” pg. 4, lines 14-15, Jin).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Liu, as modified, to have incorporate the teachings of Jin such that each clamping part would include a clamping groove to allow for the wire to be conveniently inserted into the wire stripping machine and reduce mounting difficulties of the wire (pg. 3 and 4, lines 30-38 and 1-7, Jin).
Regarding claim 3, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claims 1 , wherein the wire stripping machine further includes a rack (4) (support frame 101 as shown in annotated Figs. 1 and 4 above).
Liu, as modified, does not teach a rack(4), and the second wire clamping part (12) is disposed in the rack (4) with an adjustable installation position along the wire clamping direction, the size of the wire entry space (5) can be adjusted by adjusting the installation position of the second wire clamping part (12).
However, Jin does teach the a rack (4) (base 1 as shown in annotated Fig. 2 above), and the second wire clamping part (12) is disposed in the rack (4) (upper clamping block 51 is disposed in the base 1 via the first support plate as shown in annotated Fig. 2 above) with an adjustable installation position along the wire clamping direction (“the upper clamping block is slidingly connected on the base and slides along the vertical direction,” pg. 4, lines 10-11, Jin), the size of the wire entry space (5) can be adjusted by adjusting the installation position of the second wire clamping part (12) (as shown in annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Liu, as modified, to incorporate the teachings of Jin such that the second wire clamping part would be capable of adjusting its position along the wire clamping direction so that the wire entry space can be adjusted to accommodate wires of different diameters (pg. 5, lines 1-5, Jin).
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claims 3, wherein the rack (4) (supporting frame 101) includes a base (41) (bottom plate of supporting frame 101 specified in annotated Fig. 4 above), a first support plate (42) (first support plate as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above) and a second support plate (43) (second support plate as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above), the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) are both placed on the base (41) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above).
Liu, as modified, does not teach the first wire clamping part (11) is provided on the base (41) and is located between the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43), two opposite sides of the second clamping part (12) are slidingly connected to the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) respectively. Furthermore, Liu, as modified, does not teach a first chute (421) is provided on both the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43), two first sliding parts (122) are protruding from opposite sides of the second wire clamping part (12), and each first sliding part (122) is clamped in the corresponding first chute (421) and are slidingly connected with the first chute (421).
However, Jin does teach the first wire clamping part (11) is provided on the base (41) (“the lower clamping block [52] is fixed on the base [1],” pg. 11, lines 30-31, Jin) and a first chute (421) (as shown in annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above) is provided on the first support plate (42) (as shown in annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above).
Jin only teaches the first and second clamping parts being attached to one support frame rather than two, therefore, Jin does not teach two opposite sides of the second clamping part (12) are slidingly connected to the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) respectively nor does Jin teach two first sliding parts (122) are protruding from opposite sides of the second wire clamping part (12). However, Jin still teaches the second clamping part (12) being slidingly connected on one side to the first support plate (42) (“the upper clamping block is slidingly connected on the base and slides along the vertical direction,” pg. 4, lines 10-11, Jin) and further teaches one first sliding part (122) protruding from one side of the second clamping part (12) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above), wherein the first sliding part (122) is clamped onto the corresponding chute (421) and is slidingly connected with the chute on the same side (upper clamping 52 block is connected to base 1 via the sliding part being slidingly connected to the upper clamping groove 541 as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Liu, as modified, to duplicate the support frame, sliding part, and chute taught by Jin, since it has been held that mere duplication of essential working parts of a device only routine skill in the art (see MPEP, 2144.04 VI B).
The duplicated support frame, sliding part, and chute of Jin combined with Liu, as modified, would teach the rack (4) (specified in annotated Fig. 4 of Liu above) includes a base (41) (bottom plate of supporting frame 101 specified in annotated Fig. 4 of Liu above), a first support plate (42) (first support plate as shown in annotated Fig. 4 of Liu above) and a second support plate (43) (second support plate as shown in annotated Fig. 4 of Liu above), the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) are both placed on the base (41) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 of Liu above), the first wire clamping part (11) is provided on the base (41) (“the lower clamping block [52] is fixed on the base [1],” pg. 11, lines 30-31, Jin) and is located between the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) (lower clamping block 52 of Jin is between the first and second support plates of Liu), two opposite sides of the second clamping part (12) are slidingly connected to the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) respectively (upper clamping block 51 of Jin is slidingly connected to first support plate of Liu and second support plate of Liu, respectively). Furthermore, the duplicated support frame, sliding part, and chute of Jin combined with Liu, as modified, would teach a first chute (421) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 of Jin above) is provided on both the first support plate (42) (as shown in annotated Fig. 5 of Jin above) and the second support plate (first chute of Jin is provided on second support plate of Liu), two first sliding parts (122) are protruding from opposite sides of the second wire clamping part (12) (sliding part of Jin as shown in annotated Fig. 5 above also protrudes from the opposite side of the upper clamping block 51 of Jin) and each first sliding part (122) is clamped in the corresponding first chute (421) and are slidingly connected with the first chute (421) (the sliding parts of Jin on each side of the upper clamping block 51 of Jin are clamped and slidingly connected to each corresponding first chute of Jin on each support plate of Liu as shown in annotated Fig. 5 of Jin above).
Regarding claim 7, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 4, and additionally teaches wherein the wire feeding component (2) includes a driving member (driving mechanism 200 as shown in annotated Fig. 1 above), a driving shaft (21) (rotating shaft 1021 as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above) and a wire feeding wheel (22) (wire feeding wheel 1022 as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above), the wire feeding wheel (22) is coaxially arranged on the driving shaft (21) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above; “the wire feeding wheel 1022 is sleeved on the rotating shaft 1021,” pg. 6, lines 21-22, Liu), one end of the driving shaft (21) is rotationally connected to the first support plate (42), and the other end is rotationally connected to the second support plate (43) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above; “two ends of the rotating shaft 1021 is rotatably connected with the supporting frame 101,” pg. 6, lines 19-20, Liu), the output end of the driving member is connected to the driving shaft (21) (“the output end of the driving mechanism 200 is connected with one end of the rotating shaft 1021,” pg. 6, lines 20-21, Liu) and is used to drive the wire feeding wheel (22) to rotate to transport the wire in a preset direction (the driving mechanism 200 is configured to drive the wire feeding assembly 102 to rotate, pg. 6, lines 20-21, Liu).
Regarding claim 8, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 4, and additionally teaches wherein the wire stripping component (3) further includes a tool holder (32) (slider seat 1062 in annotated Fig. 4 above) connected with a lifting rod (33) (height adjusting piece 1061 is connected to sliding seat 1062, both which comprises the lifting component 106 as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above), and the rack (4) further includes a top plate (44) (top plate of supporting frame 101 specified in annotated Fig. 4 above) provided at the top of the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4), and the lifting rod (33) passes through the top plate (44) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4) and can be raised or lowered (“setting the height adjusting piece 1061 and the sliding seat 1062, which is convenient to adjust the height of the wire stripping knife 104,” pg. 8, lines 4-5, Liu), the wire stripping knife (31) is installed on the knife holder (32) (“as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above; the wire stripping knife 104 is set on the sliding seat 1062,” pg. 3, lines 19-20, Liu).
Regarding claim 10, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 8, and additionally teaches wherein the first support plate (42) and the second support plate (43) are each provided with a second chute (422) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above), second sliding parts (321) are protruding from opposite sides of the tool holder (32) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above), the second sliding parts (321) are snaped in the corresponding second slide grooves (422) and can slide along the second chute (422) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 above; “a sliding seat 1062 is slidingly set on the supporting frame 101 [via second sliding part sliding along second chute on both sides],” pg. 8, line 6, Liu).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, in view of Jin as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Hartmann et al. (US 2565965 A).
Regarding claim 6, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 4.
Liu does not teach the wire entry component (1) also includes a connected locking block (13) and an adjusting rod (14), and the first support plate (42) is provided with a guide hole (423) extending along the wire clamping direction, the adjusting rod (14) passes through the guiding hole (423) and is movable along the wire clamping direction, the adjusting rod (14) is threadedly connected to the second wire clamping part 12, the second wire clamping part (12) can be locked and limited to the first support plate (42) by twisting the adjusting rod (14) using the locking block (13).
However, Hartmann teaches a clamping mechanism, wherein the wire entry component (1) also includes a connected locking block (13) (hand turning knob 19 as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below) and an adjusting rod (14) (threaded lead screw 18 as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below), and the first support plate (42) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below) is provided with a guide hole (423) extending along the wire clamping direction (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below), the adjusting rod (14) passes through the guiding hole (423) and is movable along the wire clamping direction (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below), the adjusting rod (14) is threadedly connected to the second wire clamping part 12 (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below), the second wire clamping part (12) can be locked and limited to the first support plate (42) by twisting the adjusting rod (14) using the locking block (13) (“described construction provides a quick acting vise having a fixed position for multiple operation work, which position can be fixed to any position within the limits of the effective length of the lead screw 18,” cols. 2 and 3, lines 54-55 and 1-3, Hartmann).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Liu, as modified, to incorporate the teachings of Hartmann to provide an adjusting mechanism in the form of a locking block and adjusting rod to allow for the user to quickly adjust the positioning of the second wire clamping part based on the variable diameter of the wire (col. 1, lines 4-15, Hartmann).
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Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, in view of Jin as applied to claims 8 above, and further in view of Wang et al. (CN 110970836 A).
Regarding claim 9, Liu, as modified, teaches the claimed invention as rejected above in claim 8, and additionally teaches wherein the lifting rod (33) is threadedly connected to the top plate (44) (as shown in annotated Fig. 4 below; “a height adjusting piece 1061 is set on the [top plate of] supporting frame 101,” pg. 8, lines 1-2, Liu; “In one specific embodiment, the height adjusting piece 1061 is adjusting screw,” pg. 8, line 9, Liu) and is rotationally connected to the tool holder (32) (height adjusting piece 1061 as a screw can be rotated to connect and adjust the position of the sliding seat 1062; as shown in annotated Fig. 4).
Liu does not teach the wire stripping component (3) further includes an elastic member (34) sleeved on the lifting rod (33), the elastic member (34) is compressed and limited between the tool holder (32) and the top plate (44).
However, Wang does teach the wire stripping component (3) further includes an elastic member (34) (damping spring 14 as shown in annotated Fig. 1 below) sleeved on the lifting rod (33) (as shown in annotated Fig. 1 below; “the outer surface of the connecting rod (12) is sleeved with a damping spring is located in the machine body (1) is (14),” pg. 7, lines 2-3, Wang), the elastic member (34) is compressed and limited between the tool holder (32) and the top plate (44) (as shown in annotated Fig. 1 below; “one end of the damping spring 14 fixedly connected with the machine body 1 [via the top plate]. other end of the damping spring 14 is fixedly connected with the upper knife 13 [via the tool holder],” pg. 5, lines 15-17, Wang).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Liu, as modified, to incorporate the teachings of Wang to include an elastic member sleeved on the lifting rod to absorb shock generated by the lifting rod when adjusted to maintain the stability of the wire stripping machine (pg. 5, lines 17-18, Wang).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISHAQ M ISHAQ whose telephone number is (571)270-0696. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30AM-5PM.
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/I.M.I./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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