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 Objections
Applicant is advised that should claims 1-12 be found allowable, claims 13-20 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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) 1-4, 8-13 and 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Neale US 3482818.
Neale discloses an apparatus capable of lashing a cable (2, 3) with a lashing wire (5, 6) originating from a spool (46) of lashing wire (5, 6), the lashing wire having a terminal end originating from an interior side of the spool of lashing wire (see fig. 4), comprising: a housing (1, 31) having an exterior side, an interior side, a front end, a rear end, a top side, a bottom side, a spool receiving chamber (43, see Fig. 4), a central axis (dashed line in annotated fig. 1 below) extending from the top side to the bottom side about which the spool of lashing wire is positionable, and a wire outlet (see Fig. 5, outlet at 104) extending through the top side in substantial alignment with the central axis so the terminal end of the spool of lashing wire can be threaded through the wire outlet when the spool of lashing wire is positioned in the spool receiving chamber; a handle (shown in Fig. 3) extending from the rear end of the housing; a wire guide assembly (104, 120) supported above the top side of the housing adjacent to the wire outlet in a way that when the lashing wire is threaded through the wire guide assembly, the lashing wire is redirected toward the front end of the housing; and a wire tensioning member (127, 130, 131) supported adjacent to the front end of the housing in a way that the lashing wire extending from the wire guide assembly can be threaded around the wire tensioning member and wrapped around a cable and a support strand.
PNG
media_image1.png
314
510
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
296
382
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Neale differs from the claimed invention in that the handle is positioned between the top side and bottom side. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, through routine engineering design to position the handle on a rear side as claimed without effecting the overall function of the apparatus (example modification shown below, dashed like could be a recess hole or handle bar for grasping by hand).
PNG
media_image3.png
286
490
media_image3.png
Greyscale
As for claim 2, the modified Neale teaches wherein the wire guide assembly (104, 120) comprises: a guide member (104, 120) supported above the top side of the housing adjacent to the wire outlet so that when the lashing wire is threaded through the wire guide assembly, the lashing wire is redirected toward the front end of the housing (see fig. 5).
As for claim 3, the modified Neale teaches wherein the wire guide member (104, 120) is circular (see Fig. 5).
As for claim 4, the modified Neale teaches wherein the wire guide member (104, 120) is a roller (see fig. 5).
As for claim 8, the modified Neale teaches wherein the wire tensioning member (127, 130, 131) is circular (see fig. 5).
As for claim 9, the modified Neale teaches wherein the wire tensioning member (127, 130, 131) is a roller (see fig. 5).
As for claim 10, the modified Neale teaches wherein the housing has a protrusion (106, 128) extending from the exterior side at the front end thereof, the protrusion having a slot (106, 128) in which the wire tensioning member is positioned, the protrusion having a curved surface adjacent to a portion of the wire tensioning member (see figs. 1-2 and 5).
As for claim 11, the modified Neale teaches wherein the housing includes a first portion (49) and a second portion (31), the first portion being connected to the second portion so the first portion and the second portion of movable relative to one another between an open position wherein the spool of lashing wire may be inserted into or removed from the spool receiving chamber and a closed position wherein the first portion and the second portion are positioned about the spool of lashing wire when the spool of lashing wire is positioned in the spool receiving chamber (see fig. 4 and col. 3, lines 63-75 and col. 4, lines 1-9).
As for claim 12, the modified Neale teaches wherein the spool receiving chamber (43) has a circular, cylindrical shape (see figs. 1-2, 4 and 8).
As for claim 13, the modified Neale teaches an apparatus in combination with a lashing wire originating from a spool of lashing wire, the lashing wire having a terminal end originating from an interior side of the spool of lashing wire as claimed. See claim 1 rejection as claim 13 recites the same limitations as claim 1 with broader limitations.
As for claim 15, see claim 3 rejection.
As for claim 16, see claim 4 rejection.
As for claim 17, see claim 8 rejection.
As for claim 18, see claim 9 rejection.
As for claim 19, see claim 10 rejection.
As for claim 20, see claim 11 rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 14 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: The claims in the application are deemed to be directed to a nonobvious improvement over the prior art. The claims recite wherein the wire guide assembly further comprises: a tubular wire guide positioned between the wire guide member and the wire tensioning member so the lashing wire extending between the wire guide member and the wire tensioning member is enclosed. The closest prior art of Neale discloses a wire guide assembly and wire tensioning member as recited above wherein the lashing wire is guided between the guide assembly and tensioning member but fails to disclose wherein a tubular wire guide is positioned between the wire guide member and the wire tensioning member such that the lashing wire is enclosed within the tubular wire guide. For the above reasons the claims overcome the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYRONE V HALL JR whose telephone number is (571)270-5948. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm.
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, Monica Carter can be reached at (571) 272-4475. 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.
/TYRONE V HALL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights