CTNF 18/688,249 CTNF 82394 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Examiner Note Upon further review and consideration, the previously indicated allowable subject matter has been withdrawn. A new non-final Office Action is set forth below. Claim Status Claims 6-10 and 12-16 are pending. Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s amendments to claims 6, 7, 9 and 10, canceled claims 1-5 and 10 and new claims 12-16. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 6-10 and 12-16 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Objections Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 2 – add --plurality of-- before “insertion holes”. Correction is required. Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 2 – add --plurality of-- before “insertion holes”. Correction is required. Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: Lines 4 and 6 – add --plurality of-- before “insertion holes”. Correction is required. Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: Lines 4 and 6 – add --plurality of-- before “insertion holes”. Correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 6-9 and 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishi et al WIPO Patent No. WO 2021/075297A1 (“Kishi ‘297”) in view of Kishi et al U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0278835A1 (“Kishi ‘835”) . With regard to claim 6, and as shown in Figure 1, Kishi ‘297 discloses a pipe joint, comprising: a gland (at 22) arranged along an outer circumference of a spigot (at 4) of the pipe joint so as to face an opening end surface (see below) of a socket (at 3) of the pipe joint from an outer side, the gland being connected to the socket by a plurality of fixing bolts (at 25) to push a sealing member (at 19) inserted between the outer circumference of the spigot and an inner circumference of the socket into a deeper side of the socket, the gland comprising: a pressing surface (see below) that presses the sealing member (at 19) ; a plurality of insertion holes (see below) in which each of the fixing bolts is inserted therethrough; a contact portion (at 23, 23) that is brought into contact with the opening end surface of the socket; and a surface (see below) formed on an inner circumference of the gland, wherein a sealing surface (see below) having a diameter gradually reduced toward the deeper side of the socket is formed in the inner circumference of the socket, wherein an insertion space (see below) is formed between the sealing surface and the outer circumference of the spigot, wherein the sealing member (at 19) is inserted into the insertion space (as shown in Fig 1), wherein the sealing member (at 19) has a bulb portion at an end portion in an insertion direction (as shown in Fig 9), the bulb portion being compressed in a pipe radial direction to exhibit a sealing function (as shown in Fig 1), wherein a guiding surface (see below) that guides the bulb portion of the sealing member from the opening end surface of the socket to the insertion space is formed in the inner circumference of the socket, and wherein the guiding surface is tapered and has a diameter gradually reduced toward the deeper side of the socket and formed between the opening end surface of the socket and the sealing surface in a pipe axis direction (as shown in Fig 1). PNG media_image1.png 534 618 media_image1.png Greyscale However, Kishi ‘297 does not disclose that the surface formed on the inner circumference of the gland is tapered and having a diameter expanded from a side of the tapered surface closer to the pressing surface than to an opposite side of the tapered surface farther away from the pressing surface. Kishi ‘835 teaches (as shown in Fig 21 below) that the inner circumference of a gland can have a tapered surface with a diameter that expands from a side of the tapered surface closer to the pressing surface than to an opposite side of the tapered surface farther away from the pressing surface such that when the flange is fitted onto the spigot, operation errors can be avoided and the confirmation of orientation of the surfaces can be omitted so that operation efficiency can be improved (paragraph 221). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the surface formed on the inner circumference of the gland be tapered and have a diameter expanded from a side of the tapered surface closer to the pressing surface than to an opposite side of the tapered surface farther away from the pressing surface with a reasonable expectation of success such that when the flange is fitted onto the spigot, operation errors can be avoided and the confirmation of orientation of the surfaces can be omitted so that operation efficiency can be improved as taught by Kishi ‘835 and because a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the level of skill of one skilled in the art. In re Dailey , 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966). PNG media_image2.png 262 290 media_image2.png Greyscale Kishi ‘297 also does not disclose that an inclination angle of the guiding surface with respect to the pipe axis direction is larger than an inclination angle of the sealing surface with respect to the pipe axis direction. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have an inclination angle of the guiding surface with respect to the pipe axis direction be larger than an inclination angle of the sealing surface with respect to the pipe axis direction with a reasonable expectation of success to allow for a more secure connection with the sealing member and because a change in the size of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Rose , 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). With regard to claim 7, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the plurality of insertion holes of the gland are located on an outer side of the pressing surface in a radial direction of a body of the gland (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), wherein the contact portion (at 23, 23) of the gland is provided in a region from a circumference of the pressing surface to an outer circumferential edge of the gland in the radial direction of the body of the gland excepting the plurality of insertion holes (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), wherein the pressing surface is formed in a recessed portion (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297 above) surrounded by the contact portion (at 23, 23), and wherein the end portion of the sealing member (at 19) is fitted into the recessed portion of the gland. With regard to claim 8, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein a gap (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297 above) is formed, in which the gap is surrounded by an inner circumferential surface of the contact portion of the gland, a guiding surface of the socket, and an outer circumferential surface of the sealing member. With regard to claim 9, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein a diameter of an end portion of the guiding surface on a side of the opening end surface of the socket is smaller than an inner diameter of the contact portion of the gland (see below). PNG media_image3.png 260 278 media_image3.png Greyscale With regard to claim 12, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the gland (at 22) has an inner circumferential surface (as shown in Fig 21 of Kishi ‘835 above) formed in the inner circumference of the gland, the inner circumferential surface having a constant inner diameter and being located on a side of the inner circumference that is closer to the pressing surface than to the tapered surface. With regard to claim 13, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the contact portion (at 23, 23) of the gland is provided to surround at least a circumference of each of the insertion holes (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297). With regard to claim 14, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the contact portion (at 23, 23) of the gland is provided to surround at least a circumference of each of the insertion holes (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297). With regard to claim 15, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the contact portion of the gland has a first contact portion (at 23) and a second contact portion (at 23), wherein the first contact portion (at 23 above the bolt 25) is a projecting portion located on an outer side of each of the insertion holes in a radial direction of a body of the gland (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), wherein the second contact portion (at 23 next to the pressing surface) is a projecting portion located on an inner side of each of the insertion holes in the radial direction of the body of the gland, the second contact portion being formed to surround a circumference of the pressing surface (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), and wherein a recessed portion (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297 above) into which the end portion of the sealing member (at 19) fits is formed on an inner side of the second contact portion in the radial direction of the body of the gland. With regard to claim 16, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the contact portion of the gland has a first contact portion (at 23) and a second contact portion (at 23), wherein the first contact portion (at 23 above the bolt 25) is a projecting portion located on an outer side of each of the insertion holes in the radial direction of the body of the gland (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), wherein the second contact portion (at 23 next to the pressing surface) is a projecting portion located on an inner side of each of the insertion holes in the radial direction of the body of the gland, the second contact portion being formed to surround a circumference of the pressing surface (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297), and wherein a recessed portion (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297 above) into which the end portion of the sealing member (at 19) fits is formed on an inner side of the second contact portion in the radial direction of the body of the gland . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishi et al (“Kishi ‘297”) in view of Kishi et al (“Kishi ‘835”) and further in view of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 48-021815A (“JP ‘815”) . With regard to claim 10, Kishi ‘297 in view of Kishi ‘835 disclose wherein the pressing surface of the gland abuts on the sealing member (as shown in Fig 1 of Kishi ‘297) but does not disclose that a pipe axis of either one of the spigot and the socket is inclined with respect to a pipe axis of the other with the spigot being inserted into the socket. JP ‘815 teaches that the spigot can be inclined with respect to a pipe axis of the socket to provide flexibility in different conditions (page 3, lines 31-33 of the translation provided by Applicant). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a pipe axis of either one of the spigot and the socket be inclined with respect to a pipe axis of the other with the spigot being inserted into the socket with respect to the pipe axis direction with a reasonable expectation of success to provide flexibility in different conditions as taught by JP ‘815 and because it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known element for use on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FANNIE KEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1820. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm. 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, Matthew Troutman can be reached at 571-270-3654. 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. /F.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3679 /Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 2 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 4 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 5 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 6 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 7 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 8 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 9 Art Unit: 3679 Application/Control Number: 18/688,249 Page 10 Art Unit: 3679
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