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 .
This non-final Office action is in response to Applicant’s patent application number 18/687,154 filed on 2/27/2024.
Currently, claims 1-14 are pending and examined.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/18/2025; 3/8/2024; 2/27/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
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 1-14 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.
Re claim 1, line 3; a phrase “which” renders the claim indefinite and confusing because it is unclear whether “which” referring to which structure? Clarification is required. Claims 2-14 depending upon the rejected claim 1 are also rejected. Claim 6, 18; claim 13, line 13; claim 14, line 24; having the same issues as mentioned are also rejected.
Re claim 9, lines 7-8; a citation “the outer surface” does not have a proper antecedent basis. Correction is required. Claims 10-12 depending upon the rejected claim 9 are also rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
As best understood, claim(s) 1-6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US No. 2005/0110179 to Loeffler-Lenz (‘Loeffler’).
Re claim 1: Loeffler discloses a tube structure 10 (Fig. 1) comprising: a tube body 21 having therein a movement path 17 along which a traveling body moves; and a reinforcing block 23 (i.e. concrete 13) that is formed of a different material (see Fig. 2) from the tube body 21 (i.e. metal, par. [0022]) and coupled to the tube body 21 in the longitudinal direction of the tube body 21 to reinforce the tube body 21, wherein the reinforcing block 23 has a contact surface in surface contact with an outer surface of the tube body 21, and the contact surface extends in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing block 23 (Fig. 1).
Re claim 2: wherein the tube body 21 is comprised of a tubular member (Fig. 1) formed of a metal material (par. [0022]), and the reinforcing block 23 is comprised of precast concrete 13, and the contact surface has a shape corresponding to the outer surface of the tube body 21 (Fig. 1).
Re claim 3: wherein the reinforcing block 23 is coupled to an upper side of the tube body 21.
Re claim 4: wherein the tube body 21 is configured so that a plurality of unit tubes 21/21/21 (see Abstract, Fig. 1) are continuously disposed in a longitudinal direction, and the reinforcing block 23 connects adjacent unit tubes 21/21/21.
Re claim 5: wherein the tube body 21 is configured so that a plurality of unit tubes 21/21/21 (see Abstract, Fig. 1) are continuously disposed in the longitudinal direction, the reinforcing block 23 is configured so that a plurality of unit blocks 23/23/23 are continuously disposed in the longitudinal direction, and the unit blocks 23/23/23 are installed over the unit tubes 21/21/21 adjacent to each other to connect adjacent unit tubes 21/21/21.
Re claim 6: wherein the reinforcing block 23 is configured so that a plurality of unit blocks 23/23/23 are continuously disposed in a longitudinal direction, and the unit block 23 comprises a plurality of unit block units (i.e. wherein 23 points in two ends of the block) in which at least one of an installation width in a width direction (i.e. from 26 to 27 point to, Fig. 2) and a minimum installation height in a height direction (i.e. from 17 to 14 point to) is varied (due to curved configuration of the tube).
Re claim 13: wherein the tube body 21 is configured so that a plurality of unit tubes 21/21/21 are continuously disposed in a longitudinal direction (Fig. 1), and the tube structure further comprises: a sealing unit 41 having a ring-shaped shape (i.e. a ring shaped shape before 42 was installed) into which an end region of the adjacent unit tubes 21 in the longitudinal direction is inserted and a space between the adjacent unit tubes is sealed (Fig. 4).
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) 7-12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US No. 2005/011079 to Loeffler.
Re claims 7-8: Loeffler discloses basic structures of the claimed invention as stated above but does not disclose expressly wherein the reinforcing block has an installation width in a range of 20 to 35% of a diameter of the tube body in a width direction; and wherein the reinforcing block is configured so that a minimum installation height in a height direction is in a range of 10 to 20% of the installation width. However, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to different ratios for the reinforcing block has an installation width in a range of 20 to 35% of a diameter of the tube body in a width direction and the reinforcing block is configured so that a minimum installation height in a height direction is in a range of 10 to 20% of the installation width in order to optimize the reinforcement the tube more integrity, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Re claims 9, 10, 11: Loeffler discloses basic structures of the claimed invention as stated above and further discloses a fastening unit 31 and fastened while penetrating through the reinforcing block 23 to connect the tube body 21 and the reinforcing block 23 via apertures 27 (see Figs. 2-3) but does not disclose expressly installed to protrude from the outer surface of the tube body 21; wherein the fastening unit 35 comprises: a first fastening member 31, a second fastening member 27 detachably fastened to the first fastening member 31, and configured to bring the contact surface of the reinforcing block 23 into close contact with the outer surface of the tube body 21. However, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention install to protrude from the outer surface of the tube body for optimizing a quicker installation since installers have more space from outside.
Re claim 12: wherein a plurality of fastening units 35 are formed to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the tube body 21 (i.e. along wherein each 22/22/22 points to), and a plurality of first fastening members 35 are formed to be spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the tube body 21.
Re claim 14: Loeffler discloses basic structures of the claimed invention as stated above and further discloses the sealing unit 41 comprises: a sealing body (i.e. wherein 41 points to, Fig. 4) disposed between two adjacent unit tubes 21 but does not disclose expressly a first insertion groove formed on one side of the sealing body and into which the unit tube of one side is inserted; and a second insertion groove formed on the other side of the sealing body and into which the unit tube of the other side is inserted. However, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to choose different shapes with each groove on each of the body for the sealing unit in order accommodate the tube and reinforcing block shapes for preventing air gap leak in between the tube body and the reinforcing block, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known sealing unit with different shapes on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (see attached PTO-892).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to CHI Q. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-6847. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7AM-5PM or email: chi.nguyen@uspto.gov. If attempt to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Brian Mattei can be reached at (571) 270-3238. 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://pairdirect.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at (866) 217-9197.
/CHI Q NGUYEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
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