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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/20/26 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1, 2 and 4-2 are pending. Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s amendments to claims 5 and 18
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/20/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With regard to claims 5 and 18, Applicant argues that Bowman does not disclose that the fitting defines an annular engagement groove and that the fitting is coupled to the body portion by the annular engagement lip being positioned within the annular engagement groove.
Examiner disagrees.
As set forth below, Bowman discloses as shown in a different embodiment that the fitting can define an annular engagement groove where an annular engagement lip can be positioned and Bowman also teaches that the fittings can be selected from the group of plain ends and grooved ends (see paragraph 14). Therefore, Bowman discloses the claimed limitations.
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) 5-8 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bowman U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0327238A1.
With regard to claim 5, and as shown in Figure 1, Bowman discloses a compression fitting for use with a piping element, the compression fitting comprising:
a fitting body (at 12), the fitting body defining a first end (at 16), a second end (at 18), and an interior (at 14), the fitting body comprising:
a body portion (body portion of 12);
an annular retaining lip (at 32 – see Fig 2) connected to the body portion, the annular retaining lip comprising a contact portion (see below) configured to engage the piping element;
an annular engagement lip (at 34 – see Fig 2) connected to the body portion opposite the annular retaining lip (at 32);
a gap (as shown in Fig 1 and Fig 6) defined between the first end (at 16) and the second end (at 18);
a first end lug (at 20) connected to the first end (at 16); and,
a second end lug (at 22) connected to the second end (at 18);
a fitting (Examiner is interpreting fitting to mean any component used to connect, join or adapt parts of a structure) the fitting coupled to the body portion (at 60 – see Fig 5);
a gasket (at 52) positioned within the interior of the fitting body between the annular retaining lip and the annular engagement lip (as shown in Fig 2); and,
a fastener assembly (at 26, 28) arranged to engage the first end lug (at 20) and the second end lug (at 22).
Bowman does not disclose, in the embodiment shown in Fig 1, that the fitting (at 60) defines an annular engagement groove and that the fitting is coupled to the body portion by the annular engagement lip being positioned within the annular engagement groove. However, Bowman teaches that the fitting can be selected (as taught in paragraph 14) from the group of fittings with plain ends (at 60) or fittings with grooves (at 98 in Fig 11) where an annular engagement lip (at 62) can be coupled to an annular engagement groove (at 98c) of a fitting (98) to assist in providing proper installation and avoid the need to specify bolt torques (paragraph 38, lines 17-27).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the plain end fitting with a grooved fitting with a reasonable expectation of success to assist in providing proper installation and avoid the need to specify bolt torques as taught by Bowman.
Note: the piping element is not a part of the claimed invention.
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With regard to claim 6, and as shown in Figure 1, Bowman discloses wherein the annular retaining lip (at 32) comprises an external ring portion and an internal ring portion, and wherein the internal ring portion comprises a chamfer and the contact portion, the chamfer arranged between the external ring portion and the contact portion (see below).
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With regard to claim 7, and as shown in Figure 1, Bowman discloses wherein the annular retaining lip (at 32) comprises at least one relief notch (at 42).
With regard to claim 8, and as shown in Figure 1, Bowman discloses wherein the at least one relief notch of the annular retaining lip comprises a plurality of relief notches (at 42, 42).
With regard to claim 18, Bowman discloses a method of tightening a pipe fitting onto an outer surface of a piping element, the method comprising:
obtaining a pipe fitting (see Fig 1), the pipe fitting comprising:
a fitting body (at 12), the fitting body defining a first end (at 16), a second end (at 18), and an interior (at 14), the fitting body comprising:
a body portion (body portion of 12);
an annular retaining lip (at 32 as shown in Fig 2) connected to the body portion, the annular retaining lip comprising a contact portion (see above) configured to engage the piping element;
an annular engagement lip (at 34 as shown in Fig 2) connected to the body portion opposite the annular retaining lip (at 32);
a gap (as shown in Fig 1 and Fig 6) defined between the first end (at 16) and the second end (at 18);
a first end lug (at 20) connected to the first end (at 16); and,
a second end lug (at 22) connected to the second end (at 18);
a fitting (Examiner is interpreting fitting to mean any component used to connect, join or adapt parts of a structure) the fitting coupled to the body portion (at 60 – see Fig 5);
a gasket (at 52) positioned within the interior of the fitting body between the annular retaining lip and the annular engagement lip (as shown in Fig 2); and,
a fastener assembly (at 26, 28) arranged to engage the first end lug (at 20) and the second end lug (at 22);
disposing at least a portion of the piping element (at 58) within a fitting void of the pipe fitting in a loosened configuration of the pipe fitting, wherein the gap defined between the first end (at 16) and the second end (at 18) is wide in the loosened configuration (as shown in Fig 6); and
tightening the fastener assembly to draw the first end (at 16) of the compression fitting towards the second end (at 18) of the compression fitting to reduce the gap until the contact portion is in contact with the outer surface of the piping element (as shown in Fig 5 and Fig 7).
Bowman does not disclose, in the embodiment shown in Fig 1, that the fitting (at 60) defines an annular engagement groove and that the fitting is coupled to the body portion by the annular engagement lip being positioned within the annular engagement groove. However, Bowman teaches that the fitting can be selected (as taught in paragraph 14) from the group of fittings with plain ends (at 60) or fittings with grooves (at 98 in Fig 11) where an annular engagement lip (at 62) can be coupled to an annular engagement groove (at 98c) of a fitting (98) to assist in providing proper installation and avoid the need to specify bolt torques (paragraph 38, lines 17-27).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the plain end fitting with a grooved fitting with a reasonable expectation of success to assist in providing proper installation and avoid the need to specify bolt torques as taught by Bowman.
With regard to claim 19, Bowman discloses wherein the step of disposing at least a portion of the piping element within the fitting void further comprises engaging the gasket against the outer surface of the piping element (as shown in Fig 5).
With regard to claim 20, Bowman discloses wherein tightening the fastener assembly to draw the first end of the compression fitting towards the second end of the compression fitting comprises engaging and rotating a threaded fastener (paragraph 33, lines 1-3) of the fastener assembly with a tightening tool (via a user’s hand), and wherein the compression fitting defines a clearance recess (see below) providing suitable clearance for the tightening tool to engage and to rotate the threaded fastener (wherein a user’s hand can fit in the clearance recess to rotate the fastener assembly).
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Claim(s) 21 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bowman in view of Lang et al U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0240143.
With regard to claim 21, Bowman discloses the claimed invention but does not disclose that the fitting comprises an end cap. Lang et al teach that a fitting used with a compression fitting can be different types of fittings such as an end cap fitting depending on the type of fitting needed for the system (as shown in Figures 16B and 17A-17D).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the fitting comprise an end cap with a reasonable expectation of success as different types of fittings such as an end cap fitting can be utilized depending on the type of fitting needed for the system and because it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known element for use on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
With regard to claim 22, Bowman discloses the claimed invention but does not disclose that the fitting comprises an end cap. Lang et al teach that a fitting used with a fitting system can be different types of fittings such as an end cap fitting depending on the type of fitting needed for the system (as shown in Figures 16B and 17A-17D).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the fitting comprise an end cap with a reasonable expectation of success as different types of fittings such as an end cap fitting can be utilized depending on the type of fitting needed for the system and because it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known element for use on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2 and 4 were previously allowed.
Claims 9-17 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FANNIE KEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1820. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at 571-270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/F.K./Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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