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
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 and 5-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Radanovic et al. (US 12049918).
Regarding claim 1, Radanovic discloses a device 1 for compensating for tolerances between two components B1, B2 to be connected to one another, the device comprising at least one base element 2 and one compensating element 3, which are at least partially inserted into one another and coupled to one another in a captive manner in an as-delivered state and prior to installation, wherein a connecting element 8 is provided for connecting the two components and is held in the base element or the compensating element in a captive and loose manner in the as-delivered state and prior to installation.
Regarding claim 5, Radanovic discloses wherein the compensating element 3 or the base element 2 has at least one resilient element 7 extending inwards in the radial direction, which holds the connecting element 8 at least in a captive manner in the compensating element or in the base element in the as-delivered state and prior to installation.
Regarding claim 6, Radanovic discloses wherein the resilient element 7 is designed as an inner latching lip (at H3) in which the connecting element 8 is releasably held.
Regarding claim 7, Radanovic discloses wherein the inner latching lip is designed as a circumferential inner ring and is configured to hold the connecting element 8 centered with respect to the longitudinal axis L or rotation axis of the device 1 in a captive manner.
Regarding claim 8, Radanovic discloses wherein the connecting element 8 has a head and a shaft Fig. 7 and the compensating element 3 and/or the base element 2 has/have at least two through-openings D which are larger than a diameter of the shaft and smaller than a diameter of the head, so that the connecting element is held in a loose and captive manner between the two through-openings in the as-delivered state and prior to installation.
Regarding claim 9, Radanovic discloses wherein one of the through-openings D of the compensating element 3 or of the base element 2 and/or the resilient element 7 is/are designed in each case as a centering device and is/are configured to fix the connecting element 8 to the centering device in a self-centering manner when the device is installed.
Regarding claim 10, Radanovic discloses wherein the centering device 7 is formed on the inner surface of the compensating element 3 or of the base element 2, wherein the inner surface tapers radially inwards and conically in the direction of compensation Fig. 7.
Regarding claim 11, Radanovic discloses wherein an opening reducer 4 is arranged in at least one of the through-openings D.
Regarding claim 12, Radanovic discloses wherein the opening reducer 4 is arranged with a radial play 4.2 in one of the through-openings.
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.
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) 2-4, 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Radanovic in view of Mosch et al. (US 2020/0332825).
Regarding claim 2, Radanovic discloses the invention as claimed above but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the compensating element or the base element is formed from two sub-elements. Mosch et al., a device Fig. 1 for compensating tolerances between two components, discloses the use of a compensating element 22 formed from two sub-elements 24a, 24b. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the compensating element of Radanovic as two sub-elements as taught by Mosch et al. in order to compensate for tolerances between the threads and eliminates play in the thread engagement between the base element and the compensation element. (Para. 0034 of Mosch et al.)
Regarding claim 3, the combination discloses wherein the compensating element (22 of Mosch et al.) or the base element is formed from two sub-elements 24a, 24b which are configured to form a receiving space when connected to one another, in which receiving space the connecting element 8 is held in a captive and optionally loose manner in the as-delivered state and prior to installation.
Regarding claim 4, the combination discloses a device 1 for compensating for tolerances between two components to be connected to one another, wherein the device comprises at least one base element 2 and one compensating element (22 of Mosch et al.), which in an as-delivered state and prior to installation are at least partially inserted into one another and coupled to one another in a captive manner, and wherein the compensating element or the base element is formed from two sub-elements 24a, 24b which are configured to form a receiving space for a connecting element when connected to one another, the compensating element or the base element having at least one resilient element 7 extending inwards in the radial direction, which holds the connecting element at least in a captive manner in the compensating element or in the base element in the as-delivered state and prior to installation, the resilient element being designed as an inner latching lip H3 in which the connecting element is releasably held, wherein the inner latching lip is designed as a circumferential inner ring and is configured to hold the connecting element centered with respect to the longitudinal axis or rotation axis of the device in a captive manner.
Regarding claim 13, the combination discloses wherein a transport securing means 5.1 is provided between the compensating element 3 and the base element 2 or between the compensating element and one of the components, which comprises at least one resilient retaining element extending in the radial direction on the outside of the compensating element and at least one complementary resilient retaining recess extending in the radial direction on the inside of the base element.
Regarding claim 14, the combination discloses wherein the sub-elements (24a, 24b of Mosch et al.) are formed to be mirror-symmetrical to one another.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUGENE G BYRD whose telephone number is (571)270-1824. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm.
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/EUGENE G BYRD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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