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 .
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)(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) 1,5-15,17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Casulleras (20200354966).
Claim 1. Casulleras discloses a fastening system for fastening a facade panel to a support, comprising:
- a hanger (200) configured to be fastened to the facade panel (300), the hanger having an upper leg (as noted in the annotated figure), wherein the upper leg has an abutment face (on the underside) configured to face, or abut on, the support (100) and is provided with a through hole (250) extending from the abutment face through the upper leg in a thickness direction, wherein the through hole has a hole diameter across the thickness direction and a hole length along the thickness direction (as seen in the figures);
- a fixing element (399 and/or 400) configured to be fastened to the support, the fixing element having a shaft (as seen in the figures and noted in the disclsorue), the shaft comprising a protruding portion configured to protrude from the support in a protruding direction when the fixing element is fastened to the support and having a protruding-portion diameter across the protruding direction smaller than the hole diameter and a protruding-portion length along the protruding direction greater than the hole length (as seen in figure 4);
wherein the protruding portion is configured to extend through the through hole when the abutment face faces or abuts on the support and the fixing element is fastened to the support (as seen in figure 4 and noted in the disclosure).
Claim 5. The fastening system according to claim 1,wherein the shaft comprises a fastening portion (410) following, or joining, the protruding portion in a direction opposite to the protruding direction (up or down) and configured to penetrate, or drill into (paragraph 0046), the support and fasten the fixing element to the support, wherein the shaft comprises a stop (the transition between 420 and 430), or step, configured to abut on the support when the fixing element is fastened to the support.
Claim 6. The fastening system according to claim 5, wherein the fastening portion comprises a thread, or a self-tapping thread (paragraph 0046).
Claim 7. The fastening system according to claim 5,wherein the stop comprises a tapered chamfer (as seen in the figures where 430 has a tapered chamfer).
Claim 8. The fastening system according to claim 1, wherein the fixing element comprises a drill tip (410, (as noted at least at paragraph(s) 0046) following, or joining, the protruding portion in a direction opposite to the protruding direction (where the protruding direction is up) and configured to penetrate the support (where it penetrates during insertion, paragraph 0046).
Claim 9. The fastening system according to claim 1,wherein the hanger, or the upper leg, comprises an adjustment element (500) configured to adjust a distance between the abutment face and the support in the protruding direction when the abutment face faces or abuts on the support (paragraph 0045).
Claim 10. The fastening system according to claim 1, further comprising a panel fastener (600 or 600’) configured to fasten the hanger to the facade panel, wherein the upper leg protrudes from the facade panel in a direction transverse to the thickness direction when the hanger is fastened to the facade panel (as seen in the figures and noted in the disclosure).
Claim 11. The fastening system according to claim 1,wherein the hanger further comprises a lower leg (as noted din the annotated figure) protruding from the facade panel in a direction transverse to the thickness direction when the hanger is fastened to the facade panel and configured to abut on a lower portion of the support when the facade panel is fastened to the support.
Claim 12. A facade comprising a facade panel, a fastening system according to claim 1, and a support (100), wherein the facade panel is attached to the support by the fastening system (as noted in the figures and disclosure).
Claim 13. The facade according to claim 12, wherein the support comprises a rail fastened to a wall of a building, wherein the hanger engages the rail, thereby attaching, or securing, the facade panel to the wall (as noted at least in the abstract - substructure on a load-bearing building envelope).
Claim 14. Casulleras discloses a method of fastening a facade panel to a support, the method comprising:
- providing a hanger (200) having an upper leg (as noted in the annotated figure), wherein the upper leg has an abutment face (the underside) and is provided with a through hole (250) extending from the abutment face through the leg in a thickness direction (as seen in figure 1),
- fastening the hanger to a back side of the facade panel (300) such that the upper leg protrudes from the facade panel (as seen in figure 1),
- positioning the hanger on the support such that the abutment face faces, or abuts on, the support (as noted in the figures) 2A-C and as noted throughout the disclosure),
- providing a fixing element (399 or 400) having a shaft, the shaft comprising a protruding portion (as seen in the figures),
- inserting the fixing element through the through hole (as seen in the figures and noted throughout the disclosure),
- fastening the fixing element to the support such that the protruding portion protrudes from the support in a protruding direction, thereby allowing the upper leg to move with respect to the support along the protruding direction (as seen in the figures and noted throughout the disclosure).
Claim 15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:
- providing the hanger, or the upper leg, with an adjustment element (500) configured to adjust a distance between the abutment face and the support in the protruding direction when the abutment face faces or abuts on the support (as noted in the disclosure)
- adjusting a horizontal position of the facade panel along the support before the fixing element is fastened to the support (as noted throughout the disclosure where the façade is placed in the desired position before the fixing element is fastened),
- adjusting a vertical position of the facade panel along the support after the fixing element is fastened to the support (paragraph 0047).
Claim 17. The fastening system according to claim 6, wherein the stop comprises a tapered chamfer (where 430 has a tapered chamfer).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4,16,18-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 2 and claims 3-4 and 16,18-20, which depend therefrom clearly outline and detail the features of the fastening system with a hander and fixing element where the fixing element includes a shaft with a neck portion having a diameter smaller than the protruding portion diameter and length greater than the hole length combined with a the through hole of the hander open to a lateral side of the upper ledge with an opening having a width smaller than the protruding portion diameter and greater than the neck diameter, in a way that is not anticipated or made obvious by any known prior art. Analogous art such as Casulleras (20200354966) discloses a fastening system with a hander and fixing element as noted in the rejection above. However Casulleras fails to disclose the shaft and throughout having the claimed features as claimed in claim 2.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA LAUX whose telephone number is (571)272-8228. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-3:30.
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JESSICA L. LAUX
Examiner
Art Unit 3635
/JESSICA L LAUX/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635