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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 15 March 2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 13-14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13 line 3 reads: “..the alignment recess…”. This should be corrected to read - - an alignment recess - -.
Claim 14 line 2 reads: “…the alignment recesses…”. This should be corrected to read - -alignment recesses - -.
Claim 14 line 4 reads: “…the locking element cap…”. This should be corrected to read - -locking element cap - -.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, and 6-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Ledingham (US 6,685,385 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Ledingham discloses a clamping device (see Fig. 3) for aligning separate units (see Fig. 4) in space, comprising:
a first clamp element (44) and a second clamp element (42), each adapted to be mounted to a respective separate unit (see Fig. 4);
a locking element (50 and 56) adapted to press the first clamp element and the second clamp element towards each other along a locking axis (longitudinal axis of 50);
an alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 below) adapted to, when the locking element is pressing the first and second clamp elements towards each other, at least partially extend into respective alignment apertures (65, 73 and 104) of the first and second clamp elements (see Figs. 2-3) along an alignment axis (longitudinal axis of 71) offset from the locking axis (see Fig. 3),
wherein a contact interface (tip of 71) between the alignment element and the first or second clamp element is inclined with respect to the alignment axis (see Fig. 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
274
623
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure 1. Annotated Figure 3.
Regarding claim 2, Ledingham discloses wherein the alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 above) extends at least partially into said respective alignment apertures (65, 73 and 104) by means of one or more protrusions (52 and 71), wherein the inclined contact interface (tip of 71) is at least partly defined by a tapered portion (see Fig. 3) of one of said one or more protrusions (see Fig. 3) of the alignment element.
Regarding claim 4, Ledingham discloses wherein the alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 above) comprises two protrusions (see Fig. 3) adapted to engage with respective alignment apertures (65, 73 and 104) of the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42).
Regarding claim 6, Ledingham discloses wherein the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42) each comprises an alignment recess (64, 65, 76, 104) adapted in shape and size to at least partly receive the alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 above), wherein the one or more alignment apertures (65 and 104) are provided in the alignment recess (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 7, Ledingham discloses wherein the locking element (50 and 56) is adapted to extend into respective locking apertures (62 and 74) of the first (44) and second (42) clamp element.
Regarding claim 8, Ledingham discloses wherein the locking element (50 and 56) is adapted to also extend through a locking aperture (C in annotated Figure 3 below) of the alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 above).
PNG
media_image2.png
328
313
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Figure 2. Annotated Figure 3.
Regarding claim 9, Ledingham discloses wherein the locking element (50 and 56) comprises a locking bolt (50) and a locking nut (56).
Regarding claim 10, Ledingham discloses wherein the locking aperture (74) and two alignment apertures (65 and 104) of the respective first and second clamp element (42 and 44) are aligned along a direction perpendicular to the locking axis (longitudinal axis of 50, see Fig. 3), and the locking aperture (74) is arranged between the two alignment apertures (65 and 104, see annotated Figure 3 below).
PNG
media_image3.png
851
698
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Figure 3. Annotated Figure 3.
Regarding claim 11, Ledingham discloses wherein either the first clamp element (44) or the second clamp element (42) comprises a guiding portion (63 and 102) adapted to guide the locking element (50 and 56) into the respective locking apertures (62 and 74).
Regarding claim 12, Ledingham discloses wherein the guiding portions (63 and 102) of the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42) are each adapted in shape and size to receive either the locking bolt (50) or the locking nut (56).
Regarding claim 13, Ledingham discloses comprising a locking element cap (54) adapted in shape and size to be at least partly received in the alignment recess (63) of either the first clamp element (44) or the second clamp element to engage with the locking element (50 and 56) in the locking position (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 14, Ledingham discloses wherein the alignment recesses (64 and 76) of the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42) are each adapted in shape and size to receive either the alignment element (52) or the locking element cap (60).
Regarding claim 15, Ledingham discloses wherein the one or more protrusions (52 and 71, specifically portion 71) of the alignment element (52 and 71) is adapted with a first portion (body of 71) having a cross section corresponding in shape and size to the cross section of the alignment aperture (65, 73, and 104) of the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42), and a second portion (tip of 71) having a cross section with an area smaller in size than the area of the cross section of the first portion (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 16, Ledingham discloses wherein the second portion (tip of 71) tapers from the first portion (body of 71) towards an end of the protrusion (see Fig. 3).
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) 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ledingham (US 6,685,385 B1).
Regarding claim 3, Ledingham discloses the tapered portion (tip of 71), but fails to disclose as claimed wherein the tapered portion extends along at least 5%, at least 10%, or at least 20% of the extension of the one or more protrusions (70-71).
Applicant is reminded that it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim (i.e. tapered portion extension distance) are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the tapered portion of Ledingham, such that it extends at least 5%, at least 10%, or at least 20% of the extension of the one or more protrusions, in order to provide a tapered portion that is sufficient in benefiting alignment and insertion of the protrusion into its respective recess.
Regarding claim 5, Ledingham discloses one or more alignment apertures (73) of the first clamp element (44) and the second clamp element (42), and the respective one or more protrusions (71) of the alignment element (52, 71, and surface B in annotated Figure 3 above), but fails to disclose as claimed that the alignment aperture is oval or elliptical in cross section and that the protrusion has a portion with a corresponding cross-sectional size and shape.
Applicant is reminded that it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed the prior art, changing the shape of a prior art device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ledingham, such that it comprises oval cross sectional shaped alignment apertures and protrusions, in order to provide protrusions that can be designed to withstand higher shear forces in designated directions without the need for excess material.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY A HALL whose telephone number is (571)272-5907. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 8:00am to 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, Amber Anderson can be reached on 571-270-5281. 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.
/ZAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3678
/AMBER R ANDERSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3678