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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE10202307028.6, filed on 24 July 2023.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, and 6-7 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 4, “at least one slit is extends radially inwardly.” Delete “is.”
In claim 6, “at least an axial main channel.” Amend to --at least one axial main channel--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN-209781397-U) in view of Ackerman (US-1265866-A), and further in view of Bergner (US-4984945-A).
With regards to claim 1, Wang discloses a radial fit bolt assembly (English machine translation, Technical Filed para [0002], Fig. 6), comprising: a bolt including a first section, a second section and an intermediate section axially interposed between the first and second sections (bolt 2 whose middle portion is the tapered rod body 21, with thread structures provided at both ends with regions of differing diameter along a single body, elements 2 and 21 in Fig. 1), the first section having an outer diameter increasing in a first direction and the second section having an outer diameter increasing in the first direction the outer diameter of the first section being smaller than the outer diameter of the second section (the taper rod body 21 has an outer conical surface running between a small head end on the left and a large head end on the right, i.e. a diameter increasing along one direction in Fig. 1); and a sleeve radially surrounding the bolt and including a first section, a second section and an intermediate section axially interposed between the first section of the sleeve and the second section of the sleeve, the first section of the sleeve having an inner diameter increasing along the first direction (taper sleeve 5 of inner conical surface structure, its inner conical surface in taper fit with the outer conical surface of the tapered rod body 21 in Figs. 1-4, element 5) and the second section of the sleeve having an inner diameter increasing along the first direction (sleeve 5 portion that corresponds to the second section on bolt body 2), the first and second sections of the sleeve having the same outer diameter (the outer surface of the taper sleeve 5 have a constant diameter and in clearance fit with the flange hole as shown in Fig. 1), the inner diameter of the first section of the sleeve being smaller than the inner diameter of the second section of the sleeve (sleeve 5 is tapered from first section which is the left end to a second section which is the right end in Fig. 1), the first section of the bolt being in radial contact with the first section of the sleeve and the second section of the bolt being in radial contact with the second section of the sleeve (the tapered rod body 21 radially presses against the taper sleeve 21 and cling tightly to the flange hole wall, the two conical surfaces being driven up on one another by the hydraulic tensioner 7 in Fig. 6).
However, Wang et al. do not disclose the intermediate section of the sleeve at least partially radially surrounding the intermediate section of the bolt such that an annular gap is defined radially between an outer surface of the intermediate section of the bolt and an inner surface of the intermediate section of the sleeve and an annular groove is provided on an outer surface of the intermediate section of the sleeve.
Ackerman discloses two axially spaced tapered regions carried by one bolt, tapering in the same direction, each engaged by a cylindrical -outside sleeve section expanded into the surrounding bore. With the region of the stem between the two wedges, occupied by spacer 20, carrying no wedge and therefore bearing no sleeve taper (two tapering wedge members both tapering int eh same direction as shown in Figs. 1-3, stem span at spacer 20 between them as shown in Figs. 2-3, claim 2). This is the intermediate region and the space radially between them and the surrounding structure is the annular gap. Ackerman further teaches that the grip should be developed at two axially separated regions along the bolt rather than continuously along one (lns 98-109).
Bergner discloses an expansion sleeve 2 provided with a cross-sectional reduction formed by a circumferentially extending annular groove 2g in Fig. 1 located on the outside surface of the expansion sleeve 2. Bergner teaches the annular groove 2g machined into the outer surface of the expansion sleeve 2so that the expansion sleeve deflects radially outward under reduced force, without loss of bore contact and that the annular groove on the sleeve is simple to produce (col 2, lns 59-68).
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 expansion bolt of Wang by
a) providing two axially spaced tapered contact regions with a relieved intermediate portion between them, as taught by Ackerman, and
b) providing an annular groove on the outer surface of the intermediate section of the taper sleeve, as taught by Bergner, to permit radial deflection of the sleeve under reduced force.
The result is predictable with less axial load is needed to draw the bolt through the sleeve, and the sleeve midsection deflects more readily on both installation and removal. This is the combination of known elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A).
With regards to claim 2, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 1 as set forth above, wherein the intermediate section of the bolt has an axial length (as taught by Wang) and the annular gap extends axially along the entire axial length of the intermediate section of the bolt (as taught by Ackerman). Furthermore, selecting the axial extent of the annular gap of the intermediate region is a matter of obvious design choice.
With regards to claim 3, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 1 as set forth above, wherein the intermediate section of the sleeve has an axial length and the annular groove extends axially along the entire axial length of the intermediate section of the sleeve (groove 2g and expansion sleeve 2 as taught by Bergner). In the alternative, extending the groove across the full length of the intermediate section is a matter of obvious design choice.
With regards to claim 4, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate section of the sleeve has a surface at least partially defining the annular groove of the intermediate section of the sleeve and at least one slit is extends radially inwardly from the surface of the annular groove of the intermediate section of the sleeve (as taught by Bergner with a slit which is “axially extending slots 2b extending from its leading end 2c toward its trailing end. 2b facilitate the radial expansion of the sleeve,” col 3, lns 60-63, Figs. 1 and 3-4).
With regards to claim 5, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 1 as set forth above. The combination does not explicitly disclose wherein the length of the sleeve is at least 4.5 times a maximum diameter of the bolt. Wang teaches a tapered bolt with a tapered sleeve spanning aligned flange bores. However, Wang’s tapered bolt with a tapered sleeve can work at the range of 4.5 ratio of sleeve length to maximum bolt diameter because arriving at an optimum or workable range of a result-effective variable is with the level of ordinary skill. MPEP 2144.05(II)(A)-(B). The specification does not provide a criticality for the value 4.5 and provides no support with comparative data.
With regards to claim 6, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 1 as set forth above, wherein the bolt further includes an inner injection channel having at least an axial main channel (as disclosed by Wang with groove longitudinal oil groove 23 in para [0012] of the English Machine Translation), a first radial auxiliary channel opening (radial oil holes not shown and labeled, but described in para [0012] of the English Machine Translation) on an outer surface of the first section of the bolt and a second radial auxiliary channel opening (as disclosed by Wang with radial oil holes in para [0012] of the English Machine Translation) on an outer surface of the second section of the bolt (Wang discloses the bolt 21 with two ends as shown in Fig. 1).
With regards to claim 7, the combination of Wang in view of Ackerman, and further in view of Bergner discloses the radial fit bolt assembly according to claim 6, wherein: the first section of the bolt includes at least one formed on an outer surface of the bolt, the first radial auxiliary channel of the inner injection channel being open on the at least one groove of the first section of the bolt; and the second section of the bolt includes at least one groove formed on an outer surface of the bolt, the second radial auxiliary channel of the inner injection channel being open on the at least one groove of the second section of the bolt. (Wang discloses this limitation in para [0012] of the English Machine Translation with each of the two oil groove set comprises a plurality of semi-annular oil grooves 22 having an encircling angle of 120-160 degrees together with a least one longitudinal oil groove 23 communicating with them, the semi-annular grooves a the two ends being spaced to match the width of the taper sleeve. Each radial oil hole opens onto one of the semi-annular oil grooves of its respective set. Wang discloses that on disassembly of the bolt in para [0046], high-pressure oil injected through the axial and radial holes is distributed through the semi-annular and longitudinal grooves and applies pressure to loosen the taper sleeve from the tapered rod body).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-8496394-B2 to Schneider discloses a bolt and nut connecting arrangement with a cylindrical outer diameter split clamping element.
US-10962040-B2 to Rosen et al. discloses a bolt coupling arrangement with helical grooves.
US-11415158-B2 to Schneider discloses an expansion bolt and connection assembly with reduced-diameter connecting sections on bolt and sleeve.
US-8057145-A to Dolan discloses an expansion bolt having at least one tapered portion and both stud and sleeve.
US-4974989-A to Salter discloses a tapered bolt assembly and method of reducing installation forces.
CN-108999859-A to Liu discloses a helical oil duct on the taper and fed by axial port and center hole.
CN-114458673-A to Chen et al. discloses two annular grooves joined by a spiral groove on the taper.
US-3947948-A to Fredriksson discloses oil injection to release a pre-tensioned joint.
CN-110039355-A to Cao discloses a locating pin, slitted cylindrical outer diameter sleeve, two tapered bore ends.
DE-102019207108-A1 to Ahrens discloses two wedges at opposite ends
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/L.B.N./Examiner, Art Unit 3675 /KRISTINA R FULTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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