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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1-18 are subject to examination in this Office action. Claims 19 and 20 are withdrawn (non-elected).
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II in the reply filed on 06/08/2026 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 12/18/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to for at least the following reasons:
Figures 1-11 have a line quality that is too light or pixelated to be reproduced (weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction), contain text that is illegible (reference characters, sheet numbers, and view numbers must be plain and legible), and/or contain excessive shading making it difficult to discern the details depicted therein or a photographic image of a view that is capable of being illustrated as a line drawing.
Corrected drawing sheets (i.e., line drawings) 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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding dependent claim 1, are the recited “a plurality of flanges” and “at least one aperture” the same as or different from the previously recited flanges and aperture? Clarification is requested.
Accordingly, the rejected claims will be interpreted as best understood.
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 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 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by JP H0699961 B2.
Regarding independent claim 15, JP '961 describes a structural building system comprising:
a plurality of joints (6), each of the joints including a plurality of flanges (6b) joined at predetermined angles, each flange defined by a planar surface and having at least one aperture (6d), and a
plurality of struts (3), each strut having a pair of opposed ends, each end of the opposed ends adapted to join with an aperture on one of the flanges of a respective joint of the plurality of joints,
the plurality of struts and the plurality of joints engaged in a tensioned tetrahedral arrangement (see column 4, lines 7-30, column 5, line 17 – column 6, line 19 and Figures 1-5).
Regarding claim 16, wherein each of the joints further comprises a flange plate (6a), the flanges extending perpendicularly from the flange plate; and a plurality of apertures (6c) on the flange plate for receiving a strut of the plurality of struts, the plurality of struts forming equilateral triangles.
Regarding claim 17, wherein: the plurality of struts that engage the apertures on the flange plate form a planar arrangement of struts, each strut extending in a plane defined by the plurality of flange plates and forming an equilateral triangle with adjacent struts (Figs. 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 18, further comprising: a load cap attached to each joint, the load cap having a face extending parallel to the flange plate, each load cap having a plurality of apertures for engaging a plurality sheathing panels; and a plurality of pegs, the apertures of the load cap adapted for receiving the pegs, each peg for engaging a respective sheathing panel of the plurality of sheathing panels, the plurality of sheathing panels forming a tensioned arrangement with the others of the plurality of sheathing panels (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 1, as best understood, wherein each joint comprises:
a flange plate (6a) defined by a planar surface;
a plurality of flanges (6b) extending perpendicularly from the flange plate (6a), each of the flanges (6b) joined at a common edge (Fig. 5), the common edge extending perpendicular to the flange plate (6a); and
at least one aperture (6d) on each of the flanges (6b) (see column 4, lines 7-30, column 5, line 17 – column 6, line 19 and figures 1-5).
Regarding claim 2, further comprising a plurality of apertures on the flange plate (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 3, wherein the flange plate is subdivided into a plurality of angular sections, each angular section defined by the flanges extending from the flange plate, further comprising at least one aperture on each angular section of the flange plate (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 4, further comprising a plurality of apertures on each angular section, each aperture adapted for engaging a strut, each strut extending in a plane parallel to the planar surface (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 5, wherein the common edge has an axis extending perpendicular from the flange plate, and a bore through the axis (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 6, further comprising a load cap having a planar face, the load cap attached via the bore, the planar face extending parallel to the flange plate (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 7, further comprising: a joint defined by the flange plate and the plurality of flanges extending therefrom, each flange of the plurality of flanges having an annular edge for forming a hemispherical shape (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 8, further comprising a compound joint formed from: a pair of joints; a bore defined by the common axis of each joint of the pair of joints; and an elongated fastener extending through the bore of each joint (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 9, wherein each aperture is adapted to engage a strut; the strut having a proximal end and a distal end, the aperture engaging the proximal end, the distal end adapted to engage an aperture of a distal end (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 10, wherein each strut includes: a proximal portion and a distal portion, a retention bracket having a plurality of slots; the retention bracket adapted to join the proximal portion and the distal portion via at least one through hole on each of the proximal portion and the distal portion; the through holes aligned with a respective slot of the plurality of slots for receiving a connector, the connector securing the retention bracket in slidable communication with the proximal portion and the distal portion along a length of the slot (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 11, further comprising: a first flange plate having a plurality of flanges; a second flange plate having a plurality of flanges; a strut connecting a flange from the first flange plate to a flange of the second flange plate, the strut having: a proximal portion attached to the flange of the first flange plate a distal portion attached to the flange of the second flange plate; and a retention bracket slidably engaged in linear alignment with the proximal portion and the distal portion (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 12, wherein the retention bracket further comprises: an elongated body having opposed ends; a pair of slots at each end of the opposed ends; each slot of the pair of slots having a width based on a diameter of a connection peg adapted to extend through the slot, and a length greater than the width for accommodating slidable communication of the elongated body with the proximal portion and distal portion (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 13, further comprising a sheathing panel, the load cap having at least one aperture for receiving a fastener securing the sheathing panel, the sheathing panel having: a shape based on uniform distances between a plurality of load caps; and an aperture aligned with a plurality of load caps aligned with the shape (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 14, wherein the load caps for a spacing to other load caps defined by an equilateral triangle, and the shape is an equilateral triangle having apertures aligned with three of the load caps (see e.g., Figs. 1-7).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure: Refer to the attached Form PTO-892.
Authorization for Email Communication – In the event Applicant wishes to communicate with the Examiner via electronic mail, written authorization should be provided in Applicant’s next response. See MPEP § 502.03. The following is a sample authorization form which may be used by Applicant:
Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, we hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with any authorized representative concerning any subject matter of this application by electronic mail. We understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RODNEY MINTZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7327. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 0730 - 1630 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Mattei can be reached on 571-270-3238. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RODNEY MINTZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
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