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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the coupler being an internal screw head and the coupler being an eyelet (claim 11) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a head or an external screw thread or an internal screw thread or an eyelet” should read “a head, an external screw thread, an internal screw thread, or an eyelet”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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.
Claims 10-12, 14-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ker (US 5,205,466).
With regard to claim 10, Ker discloses a screw (as seen in Figs. 10-11), comprising: a tipward shank section (7); a screw thread helix (as seen in Figs. 10-11 at C), wherein the screw thread helix is disposed on the tipward shank section (as seen in Figs. 10-11), protrudes from the tipward shank section (as seen in Figs. 10-11), and winds around the tipward shank section (as seen in Figs. 10-11); and a rearward shank section (6) having a coupler (i.e. head 5 can be considered a coupler), wherein a tensile load is introducible into the screw by the coupler (i.e. as any portion is capable of such, especially the head of a screw as such is the common usage thereof); wherein the tipward shank section and the screw thread helix are non-monolithic with respect to one another (as seen in Figs. 10-11 as they a different materials they are at least non-monolithic in that respect); wherein the tipward shank section and the rearward shank section are non-monolithic with respect to one another (as seen in Figs. 10-11 as they are separate portions welded at W).
With regard to claim 11, Ker discloses that the coupler is a head or an external screw thread or an internal screw thread or an eyelet (i.e. as seen in Figs. 10-11 and described in the specification 5 is a head).
With regard to claim 12, Ker discloses that the rearward shank section has a screw drive (i.e. of head 5) for rotationally coupling the screw to a wrench (i.e. as all screw heads are capable of in at least some manner with at least some wrench).
With regard to claim 14, Ker discloses that the rearward shank section, the screw thread helix and/or the tipward shank section consist of carbon steel or stainless steel (as disclosed in the abstract, etc.).
With regard to claim 15, Ker discloses that the tipward shank section and the screw thread helix consist of respective different materials (as the threads are carburized and the rest of the tipward shank section is not (see the abstract, etc.)) and wherein the tipward shank section and the rearward shank section consist of a same material or respective different materials (as all materials are either the same or different).
With regard to claim 16, Ker discloses that the rearward shank section and the tipward shank section are connected via a clamped, a welded, a brazed or/and a glued connection (i.e. at weld W as seen in Figs. 10-11).
With regard to claim 17, Ker discloses that the screw is a concrete tapping screw (Examiner notes that the screw is capable of being used with a bore in concrete and is capable of cutting threads therein at least to some degree and is thus considered a concrete tapping screw. Additionally see the abstract, etc. explicitly disclosing the self-tapping capability).
With regard to claim 19, Ker discloses a method (i.e. as seen in at least Figs. 5-10 it discloses a method of making and/or providing a screw), comprising: producing a first screw according to claim 10 (as seen in Figs. 5-11, etc. and as the screw is detailed in the rejection of claim 10 above); wherein the tipward shank section of the first screw is connected to the rearward shank section of the first screw (as seen in Figs. 10-11); producing a second screw according to claim 10 (as disclosed in col. 6 lines 4-8 there can be plural of the screws. Additionally see the rejection of claim 10 above); wherein the tipward shank section of the second screw is connected to the rearward shank section of the second screw (as disclosed in col. 6 lines 4-8 there can be plural of the screws. Additionally see the rejection of claim 10 above); wherein the tipward shank section of the first screw and the tipward shank section of the second screw have generally identical dimensions (i.e. as the specification discloses plural of the same screws); and wherein the rearward shank section of the first screw and the rearward shank section of the second screw have respective different dimensions (i.e. in so much that each rearward shank has plural different dimensions (e.g. the length of one if different than the width of another(, and/or in so much as any two screws would have minor dimensional differences due to manufacturing tolerances not being perfect).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 13 and 18are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ker (US 5,205,466) alone.
With regard to claim 13, Ker is silent as to whether the screw drive has an external hex structure or an internal hex structure, and thus fails to explicitly disclose such. However it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to have modified the screw of Ker such that the screw drive has an external hex structure or an internal hex structure as Examiner hereby takes Official Notice that the art is replete with examples of screws having a screw drive that has an external hex structure and/or an internal hex structure. Such a modification provides the expected benefit of providing a common drive structure (i.e. for hex wrenches, hex socket wrenches, etc.).
With regard to claim 18, Ker is silent as to the exact ratio of an outer screw thread diameter of the screw thread helix to the pitch of the screw thread helix and thus fails to explicitly disclose that it is between 1 and 2 at least in a region of the screw thread helix. However Ker does disclose at least broadly similar values (as seen in Figs. 10-11), and it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to have modified the screw of Ker such that ratio of an outer screw thread diameter of the screw thread helix to the pitch of the screw thread helix between 1 and 2 at least in a region of the screw thread helix as it is not considered inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation absent some showing of criticality. See In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). And/or as a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966). Such a modification would have merely provided the know results of tailoring the cutting and holding ability of the threads for various substrates/uses.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provides additional examples of multi-part screws (e.g. see US 2011/0142569 disclosing screws with separate threads, US 2008/0056845 for screws with separate tapping/drilling end portions, etc.).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS L FOSTER whose telephone number is (571)270-5354. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-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, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (571) 272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS L FOSTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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